


These Lies We Inherited

by thearrowavenger (DestielHasThePhoneBox)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Darth Vader's A+ parenting, Gen, Imperial Luke Skywalker, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Jedi Leia Organa, slow burn family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:22:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 94,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27565951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DestielHasThePhoneBox/pseuds/thearrowavenger
Summary: Leia Organa is a princess, a rebel, and a Jedi padawan. Luke Skywalker is a loyal imperial and, more importantly, a loyal son. Fighting for opposite causes, they have absolutely nothing in common and no reason to work together—at least, that’s what they thought.“It must be by the will of the Force that he is here. To have both of the Skywalker twins in one place after all this time? It cannot be a coincidence.”“There is only one Skywalker in this palace,” Breha snapped. “Leave Leia out of this.”“I made them both my responsibility when Anakin fell,” Obi-Wan responded. “I owe it to him and to Padme to at least try to reach their son.”“The time for saving the boy is past,” Bail cut in. “Leia is our responsibility here and now.”
Relationships: Leia Organa & Darth Vader, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker & Han Solo, Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader
Comments: 105
Kudos: 236





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a complete work and it clocks in around 170k all together. I’ll be posting weekly as I finish editing. I started writing this in May and I’m pretty excited to finally be posting. If you like it, let me know in the comments!
> 
> Thanks to [ StayMagical](/users/staymagical/) for her help and advice on editing & thanks to [ VeteratorianVillainy](/users/skeptics_secret/) for all of the help brainstorming and plotting!

Luke cleared his throat nervously, wincing at the way the sound seemed to echo off barren red walls. The hallway was lined with unmoving imperial guards and not much else, which left little for his eyes to rest upon, despite his best efforts to focus on something—anything. 

There wasn’t anything to distract himself from the unassuming datachip that seemed all too noticeable in his pocket. 

He tugged at his sleeves and checked his hair in the slightly reflective surface of the large doors for what felt like the fiftieth time. The wrinkles in his jacket sleeves refused to resolve themselves no matter how he tried to smooth them out, however, and there really was nothing he could do to salvage his hair. 

Under the watchful eyes of statuesque red guards, he had been standing here for at least twenty minutes. He couldn’t help but think that if he had to wait to be received anyway, perhaps he could have been given time to change from his trip before being summoned to the palace. He still felt as if his boots would squelch with leftover water from the storm that had been raging near constantly over the science station for his entire stay, though he had dried them out on the trip back to Imperial Center. Really, that was about the only thing he had managed to do before his arrival.

But those weren’t thoughts he should indulge in, particularly not here. The imperial palace, of all places, was not somewhere for insubordination, even within the relative privacy of his own mind. He had learned long ago that no thought was truly hidden from the emperor, but especially not in the seat of his power. He could feel the Dark Side’s nearly overwhelming grasp on Coruscant, knew that it rippled outward from the palace to the rest of the galaxy. 

The temperature in the hallway seemed to drop several degrees as the large doors finally opened. Luke bit the inside of his cheek, attempting to ignore the shivers that crawled across his skin.

The red guards parted to let out a familiar young woman, still backing out of the room respectfully. Only once she had made it to the threshold did she turn to face Luke with a raised brow and a smirk on her lips as she openly eyed him up and down. Dressed in a subtly embroidered black cape with the hood pushed back to reveal golden red hair and a precisely made up face, she looked more sophisticated than any of the rest of the imperial court could even dream of. Certainly more than Luke could live up to in his plain white uniform jacket, especially as wrinkled as it was. 

Luke tried not to let his cheeks flush in embarrassment at the sight of her judgment. It wasn’t like it was his fault, he thought defensively, that he looked so disheveled compared to her. 

Then again, he wasn’t sure Mara Jade had ever had a hair out of place in her life. 

There wasn’t time to speak as she passed him in the hall, but he could just imagine what backhanded compliment she might have for him. That single moment of eye contact had been enough for her to spot every weakness he had and come up with the perfect scathing remark. 

Then, the moment passed and she was gone. One of the masked guards gestured him forward with one outheld hand. Luke didn’t hesitate to enter as commanded, brushing a hand over the pocket of his uniform trousers to reassure himself that his recording remained hidden in its place as he walked.

The throne room was on the highest level of the southeast tower of the Imperial Palace, with windows circling the room that looked out over the Senate District and beyond. It was perhaps the airiest room in the entire palace and one that the emperor himself seemed to favor, though it didn’t match the dark, straight lined aesthetic he kept elsewhere. Despite the open space and large windows, however, the air seemed thicker and harder to breathe, as if he were stepping into a thick fog. He knew that something terrible had happened here in the past, had always been able to sense it in the Force, but he didn’t know what and knew better than to ask.

The sound of Luke’s boots on the tiled floor echoed, too loud to his ears as he approached the throne. He kept his eyes on the shining red pathway as he walked, though he knew from experience that the room was a sight to behold. Every surface besides the red pathway leading to the dais was painted a deep black that absorbed light, even when sunshine flooded in through the tall windows. At the moment, the only light came from the setting sun behind the dais, leaving everything before the emperor in shadow. 

The emperor himself sat on a shining black throne atop the dais, backed by a breathtaking view of the city between large, imposing pillars. Luke knew that the senate dome would be just visible in the distance, among Imperial Center’s finest starscrapers. 

He knelt at the foot of the stairs leading up to the dais and waited for the emperor to acknowledge him. 

“You may rise, my boy,” His Majesty said, a warm note in his voice. Luke obeyed, looking up at the emperor as he stood. 

“Your Majesty,” he said, dipping his head respectfully. 

The emperor smiled, showing yellowed teeth visible beneath the shadow his cowl cast over his face. 

“I received your report from Eadu,” he said, golden eyes seeming to glow as he looked down at Luke, “and I am quite pleased that my special project is going forward smoothly. Tell me, how did you find it?” 

Luke focused his thoughts on the shock and awe he had felt upon seeing the plans and learning the scale of the design. 

“It was an astounding example of imperial technology, Your Excellency.”

“That it is,” the emperor agreed. “But what do you think of it? You know that I am always interested in hearing your opinion, dear boy.” 

That certainly wasn’t true, but he forced himself to consider what his emperor would want to hear. It wasn’t wise to think too hard about any negative feelings or memories he had when the emperor would be able to pick them up as surely as if Luke had spoken aloud. 

“I would have thought it was impossible before I met Dr. Erso,” he demurred. 

“Ah, yes,” His Majesty responded. “A brilliant man if ever there was one, but quite troubled. Director Krennic assures me that he’s absolutely vital to the project, but I have to wonder at all of the delays.” 

There was no direct question, but Luke answered anyway, “Erso is very dedicated to his work. I think he has little else to live for, with his family gone.” 

The discussion with Erso about exactly which parts of his work he was so dedicated to had definitely been enlightening, but Luke forced himself to concentrate on the way the man had felt completely hollowed out in the Force. 

The emperor chuckled, then rose from his seat. Luke bowed his head and waited while His Majesty slowly made his way down the steps, the tap of his cane echoing off the arched ceiling. Only once he reached the bottom step and placed a hand on Luke’s shoulder did the young man look up again. 

“Come,” he ordered, lowering his hand again from Luke’s shoulder to lead him to the windows behind the throne. 

The sun had nearly set now, leaving the sky a deep red on one side, fading into gentle oranges and pinks, before settling into purple. Sunsets on Coruscant were spectacular, though Luke knew that it was in large part due to chemicals in the atmosphere. Carefully engineered weather cleared some of the toxins from the air, but the sky still seemed to light fire at sunrise and sunset every day. 

“I know your father has shared his worries about the project with you.” 

The emperor brought a hand back up to rest on Luke’s shoulder. Luke held himself still, only turning his head to meet the eyes of the man he had thought of as a grandfather when he was younger. He knew better now, of course, but the comparison had never left him entirely. 

“Yes, Your Majesty,” he admitted. If the emperor already knew, then he would achieve little trying to deny it now. 

The emperor hummed thoughtfully, then turned back to look out at the city. 

“This great empire is as much your father’s legacy as you are. We have unified the galaxy like never before, providing stability and security to the entire galaxy. But I fear Lord Vader has grown complacent.” 

Luke frowned before he caught himself and smoothed his face back out into polite interest. Of all the words he might have used to describe his father, complacent certainly wasn’t one. 

The emperor sighed. 

“Your mother understood the need to stay vigilant.” Luke’s eyes widened and the emperor looked at him again, squeezing his shoulder briefly. “I know your father rarely speaks of her, but I have always felt it of the utmost importance that you understand what she fought and died for.” 

Luke’s breath caught in his throat. It wasn’t exactly news to him that his mother had been murdered at the start of the Empire, but it wasn’t anything his father ever wished to talk to him about so he rarely had the chance to hear about her at all. It was only in rare moments like this with the emperor, that he heard allusions to what she had been like. 

“This Empire wouldn’t exist without her,” His Majesty told him, a gentle smile curling his lips. “Lord Vader doesn’t have the vision that she did. But I believe you do. You do her a great honor with your work for the Empire.” 

“Thank you, Your Excellency,” Luke said, somewhat breathlessly. 

His Majesty nodded, then finally turned away from the window, releasing his loose grip on Luke’s shoulder. He didn’t speak again until he had returned to his throne, sitting down with a heavy sigh. Luke followed him, coming to a halt at the foot of the stairs. 

“Tell me, Luke,” he said, leaning back in his seat. “What do you know of Alderaan?” 

Blinking at the sudden topic change, he answered slowly, “Alderaan is a core world and was a founding member of the Republic. They have a semi-democratic world government and a royal family.” 

The emperor nodded, looking somewhat impatient. “Yes, yes,” he said, “but what of their current political leanings? I know you have met their new senator. What was your impression of her?” 

Luke thought back to the few times he had met the woman. As one human among many in the senate, there was nothing particularly special about her. Despite that fact, she had always stood out to him, regardless of who else was in the room. Perhaps it was her barely restrained disdain every time she spoke to him that made her so memorable, though he suspected it was something more. 

“She’s young for a politician on Alderaan,” he responded, considering. “Idealistic. She seemed frustrated by her work in the Senate.” 

“I would imagine so,” the emperor chuckled. Luke let himself smile as well—they both knew how pointless work in the Senate really was. It was busy work to keep self-important politicians from causing problems. 

When he said nothing else, Luke added, “She also has a history of losing ships to insurgent groups and, ah, of course the unfortunate incident on Kashyyyk.” 

The emperor smiled for a moment, then turned serious. 

“This is what complacency leads to,” he said. “A core world with as much influence as Alderaan, claiming pacifism in one breath while supplying warships to terrorists in the next. Now there has been an attempt on Senator Organa’s life. Likely due to her association with such unsavory types.” 

Luke nodded slowly. 

“I have been told that she will be leaving in the morning to return to Alderaan,” the emperor continued. “Be on that ship. I’d like your evaluation of the Organas and how deeply rooted their treasonous sentiments are on Alderaan.” 

Luke bowed low, already considering how he would carry out his master’s orders. 

“It will be done, Your Majesty.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did anyone catch what room Palpatine’s throne room is in?
> 
> EDIT: Here's a fun fact. Apparently the towers aren't actually like.... for-sure-for-sure assigned cardinal directions. So, to be clear, I did intend to imply that Palpatine's throne room was the Jedi High Council chamber and he's got it there as like another way to spit on the Jedi's legacy. Which tower that should be in is, apparently, up for a little bit of debate, but I'm going to leave it be here.


	2. Going Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia takes home an unwanted guest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been so hyped about posting the next chapter all week and then it finally hit Saturday again and... I nearly forgot. Welp, here it is!

“Senator Organa.” 

Leia paused as she strode onto the landing platform and gestured to her guards to stay back a ways behind her. Clasping her hands in front of her to keep them still, she smoothed her face into a regal mask and continued forward onto the landing platform outside her senate apartments. 

“Lieutenant Skywalker,” she greeted, her voice even, if a little flat as she walked toward the man in question. 

Skywalker’s eyes twinkled like he knew something she didn’t, a thin smile on his lips as he stepped up to her. It was a handsome smile, even if he wasn’t the most beautiful human out there, and he looked like he belonged in Imperial propaganda. Light hair, blue eyes, and that smile all wrapped up in a nicely fitted imperial uniform made for a pretty picture indeed. Perhaps most importantly as far as imperials were concerned, Skywalker was human. 

Leia didn’t bother to hide how stiff she had become, nor to smile back at him. She didn’t need to pretend to be pleased to see him here, she just needed to be polite for as long as it took to get the man off this platform and get herself and her people onto her ship. 

“I understand there was an attempt made on your life recently,” he said, his brows raising and pushing together. Nothing in the way he spoke or stood, back straight, hands loose at his sides, gave away any knowledge he might have on the subject. Leia nearly laughed at the absurdity of it.

“Luckily, my security team handled it before anyone could be hurt.” She gestured back toward the guards waiting behind her. She didn’t point out that the bomb her team had found in her senatorial apartments was almost certainly imperial in origin. 

“Luckily.” He dipped his head in agreement. “The emperor is very concerned about the safety of his government officials. I’ve been asked to ensure your continued safety until the culprits can be found.” 

“Well, that’s very kind of him to be concerned,” Leia said, studying the lieutenant for a moment before starting forward again toward her ship. “I’m sure it won’t be necessary, however. I’ve decided to return to Alderaan while the investigation is underway. I’ll be perfectly safe there.” 

Skywalker's smile widened as he fell into step beside her. 

“I’m aware of your travel plans and have already spoken with Captain Antilles,” he told her. “He assures me it would be no great burden to add a passenger to the flight.” 

“That may be true,” Leia allowed, holding her hands together tightly as she stepped onto the ramp and then turned to face the man, blocking his path and putting herself closer to his height. “But I can assure you, my team is perfectly equipped to keep me safe.” 

Skywalker’s brows raised at that and he laughed shortly. 

“Forgive me, Senator—” He moved his hands from his sides to extend them toward her with his palms up—“but the fact that an assassin was able to get a bomb into your private apartments says otherwise. And, like I said, the emperor has seen cause for concern.” 

Skywalker paused, lowered his hands and took a half step toward her, until he had one boot on the ramp. Now, he was standing closely enough that he barely had to speak above a whisper to be heard, even despite the wind blowing around them. 

“Are you questioning his wisdom?” Nothing in his voice betrayed what she knew he suspected about her and her family’s political beliefs, but with one sentence he had made it impossible for her to reject his presence. Was this all part of the plan? Plant a bomb and then require imperial “security”? 

Leia breathed in through her nose, held it for a beat, and then breathed out. She wouldn’t be rid of him so easily, clearly.

“Of course not,” she breathed. “Lieutenant.” 

She turned to continue up the ramp finally, thoughts whirling through her mind even as she tried not to let her discomfort at having an imperial officer at her back show. 

She’d met Skywalker a few times at events in the senate and, of course, she knew the man by reputation. She was uncomfortably aware of his strange connection to the Emperor himself. She suspected her parents knew more, but she was at least familiar enough with the basics. He had been the emperor’s ward and, though she wasn’t sure why it would be a secret, some rumors stated that he was also his illegitimate son.

Whatever the truth was, he was too close to the emperor for his presence to mean anything good. 

She would need to warn her parents of this change of plans before they arrived. They never kept anything incriminating in the palace in Aldera, but there were certain palace occupants who might need to make themselves scarce for however long this took. More importantly, they needed to be made aware of how serious the situation had become. Her father had been under scrutiny since the very beginning of the Empire, but to be so openly watched was new. She wouldn’t be able to stage any further “thefts” of ships or supplies for the rebellion, nor accompany her father on any of his meetings while under such close watch. 

Even beside all of that, she had to wonder what had brought this on. Had she let something slip? Was it something she said in the senate? She was aware there was nowhere truly safe to speak openly on Coruscant and she thought she had been discreet enough with the transmissions she sent to her parents. 

So why now? And why one of the emperor’s favored agents? 

Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t mind the lack of conversation that followed. Once everything had been readied for takeoff, Leia found herself strapped into her seat behind Captain Antilles, with Skywalker casually taking the seat next to her. No one commented on it, despite the fact that that should have been her assistant’s seat. 

“We are ready for takeoff, your highness,” Captain Antilles announced, none of the unease she knew he felt as well making it into his voice. 

For the next several minutes, the only talk in the cockpit involved local air traffic control clearing a path for the ship, or the flight crew going through takeoff procedures. Leia carefully ignored Skywalker’s eyes on her, at first focusing on the view port, then deciding she may as well get some work done. 

Her work as a senator was everything and nothing like she’d imagined when she was younger, wishing to follow in her father’s footsteps. Being on Coruscant felt like having a hand directly on the pulse of the galaxy, always surrounded by intrigue and shadowy dangers. It was exciting in its own way and she could admit to herself that she relished the chance to sharpen her wits at all turns. It also allowed her diplomatic immunity, which gave her power to help people like she’d dreamed of as a child. 

At the same time, the day-to-day work of an imperial senator was busy work at best and downright insulting at worst. Her father had warned her before she started the job that much of her time would be spent playing meaningless political games over minor concessions and power plays, but it was something else to live it. Time in the senate dome was spent taking notes or arguing over petty issues, while time outside was spent with constant paperwork and even more constant social events. 

The only true value to her time on Coruscant was in the connections she made. While on Imperial Center, Leia was able to gather intelligence on potential allies as well as imperial loyalists and pass it on to her parents. 

She had thought she was being subtle enough not to attract high level imperial attention. 

“Entering hyperspace in five,” Captain Antilles announced, starting the countdown while Leia finished reading through the latest bill she needed to review. It was something to do with a major hyperlane and she was sure it may actually be important, but there was so much long winded legal and technical jargon, she was having a hard time parsing it. She made a note to have one of her legislative assistants read it over and summarise it for her before she got back to Coruscant. 

When she looked up again, she was surprised to find Skywalker seemingly engrossed in his own reading on a small datapad he’d likely pulled out of a pocket at some point. Of course, nearly as soon as she’d looked over, his eyes flicked up and met hers again. The frown he’d been directing at whatever was on his pad melted off his face like it had never been there and he smiled. 

“Senator,” he said, “now that we’re free to move about, perhaps you can introduce me to your staff. It’s best we get acquainted now, if we are to be working together.” 

Leia couldn’t think of much she’d like less than leaving her people and her ship to an imperial’s examination, but there wasn’t much she could do aside from nod. Still, she’d be damned if she let him wander off alone. 

Unbuckling, she stood from her seat and gestured toward the door out of the cockpit. 

“We can start with security.” 

\---

The trip to Alderaan took nearly a full day and two separate hyperspace jumps to safely maneuver the dense gravity fields in the deep core, but it wasn’t nearly as unpleasant a trip as Leia had feared. Under her watchful eye, Skywalker introduced himself to her entire staff and managed to do it without any threats that she could detect. Probably an achievement for an imperial officer like him. He even engaged in a long talk with her Head of Security, Cicera Akala, apparently taking his cover for being here seriously. Once he’d finished his rounds, Leia left him in Cicera’s capable hands to go discuss the change of plans with Captain Antilles and get a message to her parents before their arrival. 

The rest of the flight passed almost like normal, if more tense than usual. Everyone on board was aware they needed to be vigilant of what they said and did with Skywalker liable to be listening at any time. 

It was just past sunset, the sky a warm purple dotted with dark clouds as night set in, when they landed in Aldera. Leia couldn’t help a sigh of relief as she stepped onto the landing strip. Even standing amongst the starships, the cool air here was crisper and fresher than anything on Coruscant. It was a relief to be away from that awful planet and all of the fumes and darkness that pervaded the air there. An even greater relief was the sight of her father standing on the landing strip with the landing party. It was nearly a physical effort not to run and throw herself into his arms when she saw him. 

Instead, she walked down the platform sedately with Lieutenant Skywalker at her side. 

“Leia,” her father said, a soft smile on his lips she knew he reserved only for family. “It’s good to have you home.” 

Even despite the audience, Leia couldn’t resist stepping into her father’s arms and pressing her face to his chest, just for a moment. 

“It’s good to be home,” she responded, taking a step back. 

Cool blue eyes were watching them closely when she looked back at Skywalker, but whatever he thought of the display, he didn’t let it show on his face. 

“Father, this is Lieutenant Skywalker,” she introduced him, gesturing toward the man in question. “Lieutenant, this is my father, the Viceroy Bail Organa of Alderaan.” 

Skywalker nodded his head respectfully, though he didn’t bow the way a citizen of Alderaan might. Still, more respectful than most other imperials who had visited their capital. 

“A pleasure to meet you, Viceroy Organa.” Here on Alderaan, his high Coruscanti accent stood out even more to her than it had before.

“The pleasure is mine,” her father answered, matching Skywalker’s polite smile with one of his own. “Come, we should move inside. Spring has barely started here and it looks like we may yet get snow.” 

He turned around then and began the walk back toward the palace, casually confident that everyone would follow. Leia herself stepped forward to walk beside him. Behind them, she heard Cicera quietly speaking with Skywalker, pointing out some of the sights around them. Cicera had taken Leia’s request to stay by the officer’s side seriously, which was a relief, although not a surprise. Her staff was made up entirely of reliable, loyal people and she couldn’t be more thankful for them. 

“I imagine a short rest before dinner will do everyone some good,” her father said pleasantly as they made it to the entryway of the turbo lift that would take them to the residential section of the palace. Warmth greeted them as they came inside and she knew, looking at the faces around her, that she wasn’t the only one happy to be home. She also wasn’t the only one who felt uneasy about leading an imperial into their home. 

“Captain Akala,” her father smiled at Cicera as they stepped into the lift. “It would be greatly appreciated if you would show Lieutenant Skywalker to the guest quarters.” 

No one made mention of the fact that such a job was most definitely not one of Cicera’s usual duties as a security officer. Skywalker himself just smiled serenely, apparently not at all troubled by the obvious security measures against him. Leia had to imagine he was used to this sort of treatment, or perhaps he was just that good staying calm. Certainly she didn’t think he was unaware of the slight.

As soon as they had parted ways, Leia let out a deep sigh. 

“Papa—” she started. 

“Not here,” he interrupted her, leading her toward the suite he shared with her mother. 

“You think…” she started, glancing around the hall they were walking through nervously. She had never seriously considered that they needed to watch what they said here, not when the one major security breach was already under Cicera’s watchful eye. 

Her father didn’t answer, but his face was grim as he ushered her toward the privacy of the royal suites, his hand firm on her elbow until the door was closed behind them. 

“Papa,” she repeated, not sure what she even wanted to say, but now even more worried than she had been about the situation. 

Her father swept her into another hug, holding her even tighter than he had outside. 

“Papa, I’m okay,” she told him quietly, her voice much less firm than she had intended and muffled by the fabric of his cloak. “I’m home.” 

“Thank the stars,” he murmured quietly into her hair. Finally, he let her go and they moved further into the suite, toward the small, private library. There, sitting in one of the wingback chairs with his back to the now darkened windows, was Obi-Wan Kenobi. 

“Leia, we need to discuss what happened,” her father told her, sitting down in the seat directly to Obi-Wan’s right. 

“I requested that Captain Antilles fill you in,” she said, taking her own seat across from the other two. 

“He did.” 

Both men shared a look and then it was Obi-Wan who spoke. 

“The situation is much more dire than we had realized,” he said, speaking in the same accent Skywalker had. Sometimes she forgot that the Jedi had grown up on Coruscant himself, considering how she knew for a fact that he had not been back for as long as she had been alive.

He looked strained, she realized, and older than his age. His hair, which he’d long dyed a dark brown, had started to turn white at the roots. When had he gotten so old? She could remember him taking her on hikes into the mountains around Aldera as a child, never tiring like the other adults would have. Now he looked worn down, like the weight of the galaxy had started to take its toll. 

“I realize the seriousness of this situation,” Leia said, careful to keep her tone even, despite the growing sense that she was being judged. “And I’ve taken all of the precautions Cicera recommended without complaint. I’m here, aren’t I?”

Obi-Wan sighed. “Yes, and you know we appreciate you taking your safety seriously,” he said. He paused and Leia got the feeling there was something he wasn’t saying, then he went on, “But this may be more than just an attempt on your life.” 

She nodded. “I suspected as much as well,” she said. “Skywalker’s timing couldn’t have been more convenient. And he… he told me that the emperor is concerned.” 

A huff of breath, not even enough to be called a chuckle, escaped her father.

“I’m sure he is concerned,” he scoffed. Leia smiled at that, then let the smile fall back off her face. 

“I just don’t understand what brought this on,” she admitted. “I’ve been careful. I haven’t sent any unsecured transmissions, none of the missions you’ve sent me on have attracted more attention than before. Ever since Kashyyyk…” 

She didn’t continue the thought. They all remembered the absolute disaster that had been her mercy mission to Kashyyyk, but that had been over two years ago. 

“It may not be anything you’ve done,” Obi-Wan murmured. “It could be one of us, or the rebellion. It could simply be that the emperor grows tired of Alderaan’s continued defiance.” 

“Defiance!” Leia laughed bitterly. “Have we not paid the outrageous tithes and tariffs he demands? Have we not allowed imperial troopers to patrol our cities and control our access to the holonet?” 

“Leia.” Her father, much like Obi-Wan, looked tired. “You and I both know none of that is entirely true. We’ve always used the privileges we have to defy the Empire. Palpatine knows it. It was always a matter of time before he retaliated.” 

“So what are we going to do?” She asked, irritation rising along with her voice. “Bow our heads and submit because he sent a boy to watch us?” 

“Not just any boy,” Obi-Wan said, hand on his chin. She had seen old holorecordings of him with a beard, but he had long since shaved it to distance himself from his old appearance. Even still, he never seemed to have shaken the habit of rubbing his chin while he thought. “Skywalker is special. Surely you felt it?” 

“Felt it?” Leia repeated in question. She lowered her voice. “In the Force?” 

Obi-Wan nodded. 

She thought back to her first meeting with Skywalker, months ago now. It had been a brief meeting in the Senate building, nothing that should have stuck out in her memory, but for some reason always had. But then she thought about the way the Force had felt around the emperor and around Vader, like black holes destructively sucking the light and warmth out of everything around them. 

“No,” she said carefully. “I didn’t feel anything from him.” 

Obi-Wan looked surprised and then hummed in thought. 

“Interesting,” he said. “Though it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be wary. Palpatine was able to disguise his own presence in the force for decades right under the Order’s noses and he’s had his hands on Skywalker nearly since birth.” 

“You think he’s being groomed to be a Sith.” 

If possible, the skin around Obi-Wan’s eyes tightened more. “I do.” 

Leia frowned. “I thought there were only ever two,” she said. 

Obi-Wan shook his head slowly. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “Perhaps he intends for Skywalker to be Vader’s replacement. Perhaps he doesn’t intend to maintain that rule at all now that he’s built the empire he wanted. We already know the inquisitors use the dark side, even if they aren’t fully fledged Sith like Sidious and Vader. It’s difficult to say.”

Leia bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from commenting right away and then told him, “Whatever Skywalker is, you can’t let him see you. Maybe you should leave Aldera entirely until he’s gone.” 

Obi-Wan smiled thinly. “Perhaps.”

—

The next morning proved her father’s prediction of snow correct and found the Organas sitting in one of the less formal dining rooms for a late breakfast with their imperial guest. The room was on the smaller side, but floor to ceiling windows overlooking a garden and the lake beyond more than made up for what it lacked in size. From her seat to her mother’s left hand, Leia had a perfect view of the garden just under the windows, peaks of green just starting to sprout from the ground even while snow fell slowly on the scene. It seemed to be just warm enough that the snow melted before it hit the ground, leaving a lovely picture of the end of winter in the capital. 

The only thing tarnishing such a lovely morning was the man sitting directly in front of her, his back to the courtyard, and his icy blue eyes instead trained on her. 

“You have a lovely home, Senator,” he was saying, sipping at the dainty cup of caf in his hand. Leia and her parents had all dressed for the season, cool greens and blues to celebrate the start of spring, but Skywalker was back in the same gray uniform as always. The only difference today from every other time Leia had seen him was that he’d forgone the black gloves for the moment, though that may well only be a concession for the meal. 

He looked at Leia’s mother. “I understand you had a hand in the palace’s current design?”

Queen Breha smiled pleasantly. It was her statesman smile, the one with closed lips and just slightly crinkled eyes, the one which looked genuine and serene and nothing at all like her real smile. 

“I oversee the Historical Restoration Committee for the capital city,” she confirmed. “But very little has changed in the palace in the last century or so. We prefer to maintain a sense of history here and commit more of our budget toward addressing housing for citizens.” 

“Very honorable of you,” Skywalker said, matching the queen’s smile with one of his own. “One has to wonder if you might have the budget for both, if only you didn’t lose quite so many ships to, ah, theft.” 

The queen’s smile tightened minutely, but her voice sounded just as polite when she said, “Perhaps. One must also wonder why, after Governor Tarkin personally assured us that the Hyperlanes were being patrolled thoroughly by the imperial fleet, we continue to be targets of piracy.” 

If Skywalker was surprised that the queen of Alderaan wasn’t going to take his barely subtle probing lying down, he didn’t show it. Rather, he dipped his head forward, as if conceding the point and took another sip of caf. 

“A question for the Grand Moff himself, I suppose,” he murmured. He met the queen’s eyes then, looking much more serious than he had before, “Everyday, the fleet grows more vigilant searching for those who might use hyperlanes for subversive purposes.” 

Leia’s mother raised one delicate brow, but didn’t respond this time, taking a sip of her own caf. It was her father who spoke instead. 

“We are quite thankful that the Empire works so hard for the safety of its citizens,” he said diplomatically. 

The conversation moved on to lighter topics, completely lacking in substance and so stilted that Leia couldn’t imagine how they could last with him as their guest indefinitely. Of course, she would be taking the brunt of it, as he was determined to follow her even within the palace. 

“I can assure you, Lieutenant,” Leia told him for at least the third time as they made their way away from the residential section of the palace toward where her office was, “I am perfectly safe within these walls. There is no need for you to stay with me. Captain Akala would be happy to walk you through our security protocols if you need proof.” 

Captain Akala would also, she knew, be happy to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn’t go anywhere or see anything he shouldn’t. Leia, on the other hand, had work she needed to do, both official and unofficial; Skywalker breathing down her neck was conducive to neither. 

“And I may take her up on that at another time,” he answered firmly, “but I’d like to see for myself.” 

Leia sighed and realized that she was going to need to find another angle if she wanted to convince him to leave her alone, preferably by leaving Alderaan all together. She was still considering this when they reached the turbolift that would take them up to the level her and her parents' offices were situated. 

Neither she nor Skywalker had even reached out to press the button when the door slid open to reveal the very last person she wanted to run into at the moment. 

“Ah, your Highness,” Obi-Wan said. He sounded mildly surprised, but didn’t look alarmed at all to be standing in front of an imperial officer. Leia couldn’t help but regret the fact that she was unarmed, but certainly between herself and Master Kenobi, they could take Skywalker before he could get off a transmission to anyone else. 

“And, hm, I’m afraid I don’t know your name, young man,” Obi-Wan continued, studying Skywalker’s face. 

Skywalker himself looked more ruffled than she’d ever seen him, which was to say that he blinked twice before responding, then held out his hand to shake. Leia realized she hadn’t seen him touch another person before and had to wonder what had brought this about. 

“Lieutenant Luke Skywalker,” he introduced himself as Obi-Wan took his hand. “And you are?” 

“Oh, please call me Ben,” he said, an easy smile on his lips as he shook Skywalker’s still ungloved hand. “I’m just an old tutor here in the palace.” 

“You taught the princess?” Skywalker asked, turning his gaze back on Leia for a long moment. 

“Both of the princesses,” Obi-Wan corrected lightly. “Though Princess Winter always was more interested in current politics than any history lessons I could give.”

“I see,” Skywalker said, continuing to look between Leia and Obi-Wan thoughtfully. 

“It was very nice running into you,” Leia said, placing a hand on Skywalker’s elbow. “But we should really get going. With our late start, I’m already very behind on today’s work.” 

“Of course, of course,” Obi-Wan said, cheerfully stepping aside so that Leia could push Skywalker forward into the lift. Only once the door had slid shut again did she release her hold on the commander’s elbow. 

Skywalker stared at her the entire ride, but didn’t speak again until they exited. There were more people on this floor: Alderaanian government, palace, and senatorial staff mingling together in one central location. She knew her parents would likely end up on this floor later today, but for the time being, she couldn’t be sure what they were doing. It was for the best that she did not know anything sensitive while she was under such close surveillance. 

Skywalker’s gaze finally turned away from her to look around curiously as they walked, but it wasn’t their surroundings that he asked her about when he finally opened his mouth again. 

“I understand your sister decided to stay on Alderaan when you joined the Senate,” he said. 

It wasn’t a question, but Leia answered anyway as they made their way into her office. 

“She did.” 

Two of her legislative aides were already at work at their own desks in front of her private office when they arrived. They had been warned of Skywalker’s presence before their arrival, per Leia’s request, but the tension in the room still rose as he stepped inside. What might normally have been a few minutes of conversation to catch up on what had happened on Alderaan while Leia was on Imperial Center, today was merely a brief set of polite greetings as Leia and the lieutenant walked past them. 

As they reached the door to her office, Skywalker continued as if they hadn’t been interrupted, “Winter is your twin sister?” 

Leia wasn’t sure she liked this line of questioning, but answered truthfully, “We were both adopted, but we are the same age.” 

He hummed in thought and then walked to the window behind her desk to look outside while she situated herself. The view out her window was mostly of the mountains beyond Aldera, but it also looked down onto a quiet lane beneath the palace. She’d looked out that window more times than she could count, back when this office belonged to her father and she was learning from him while he worked. 

“But your parents took you both in from infancy?” He asked, several minutes after she’d answered his last thought, long enough that Leia had thought the conversation was over. 

“Hm?” She looked up from the report she had started reading over and said, “Oh, yes. We were raised together.”

She looked up at the man, who was still hovering behind her desk at the window, and added, “This is all public record, Lieutenant. You don’t need to ask me to learn about it.” 

Skywalker smiled and finally moved away from the window. There was a divan to the side of her desk where she remembered napping sometimes or coloring with Winter when they came to visit their father as children. Skywalker moved toward it now as he spoke. 

“It’s much more interesting speaking to you than reading old vital records and news reports,” he told her cheerfully. “Did you two take all of your lessons together? Is she as exceptional as you are, Senator?” 

Leia really didn’t like where this line of questioning was going. 

“Not all of our lessons,” she answered carefully. “And as you may know, Winter decided to pursue charitable works when I became senator. She is most certainly exceptional in her own way.” 

Skywalker nodded, as if this was the answer he had been expecting, and opened his mouth to speak again before Leia interrupted.

“Now,” she said, laying her hands flat on the desk in front of her with a soft thump. “I have a lot of work to do. I understand you feel you need to be here to fulfill your assigned task,”—her lips twitched but didn’t form into the sneer she wanted to make—“but I must focus on my work for now.” 

Skywalker bowed his head in acquiescence, his lips curling into an amused smile as he pulled out his own data pad from a shoulder pocket and made a show of turning his attention on the device.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Breha Organa only ever appears once in the movies, with no lines, and never in the animated shows--imo this is straight up a tragedy. She does, however, make an appearance in the (chronologically) second Padme Amidala book by E.K. Johnston, Queen's Shadow, which I highly recommend. Anyway, Breha Organa is queen of Alderaan and also queen of my heart <3


	3. Death and Deception

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not everything—or everyone—is as it seems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone had a good holiday, if you were celebrating! This weekend really got away from me, hence the slightly late chapter. If you're able, please consider donating to  one of these organizations  that provide Emergency food relief to Native communities during COVID-19.

Not a day passed when Bail was not reminded in some way of the fall of the Republic, not when all he had to do was look at his children. Both of them had come to him because of the war, both orphans of those terrible days, and he sometimes thought his heart couldn’t hold all of the love he felt for them. They were why he continued to fight, even nearly twenty years since everything fell apart, even in the face of an impossibly powerful enemy. He and Breha had spent years working for democracy on Alderaan and in the wider galaxy, providing a safe haven for refugees who needed a new home, and supporting those who were willing and able to stand up and fight the empire. 

Looking at Luke Skywalker, he couldn’t help but remember all the many ways their work hadn’t been enough. Was it the work of the Force that brought this boy to them now, so many years after he and Obi-Wan had failed to protect him? Or simply terrible luck? 

It didn’t change what Bail had to do, either way. Luke wasn’t his to protect, but Leia was. His people, the people in the Alliance—they were his to protect. If he had to protect them from the boy who could have been his son in another life, so be it. 

“I don’t like him being here,” Breha was saying, her eyes on the mirror as she re-braided a section of her hair that had come loose earlier in the day. 

She had already changed out of the outfit she had worn for her public meetings during the day, an elegant green dress with bell sleeves and a low enough cut in the front to show the warm light of her pulmonodes. She had taken quite a fondness to her prosthetic heart and lungs and he could admit to himself that he enjoyed seeing them as well. It was proof that she could survive nearly anything, even aside from being a visible sign of the heart he was so in love with. 

Now, she had shed her Spring colors and instead donned a white gown that was light enough to show the red light of both her heart and lungs. It was more of a display of her pulmonodes even than usual and he knew why: the sight was somewhat off putting for anyone unused to it. He knew she used such displays when she herself was feeling a little too raw. It wasn’t, he thought, something most would consider doing, but in bearing her most vulnerable parts, she was declaring her utter lack of fear. She had looked death in the eye once before and walked away from the encounter with her life, if not all of her body. 

“I don’t like it either,” he said, moving to stand behind her as she finished pinning the last braid back up. “I’ve already spoken with Mon about the situation and she agrees that we need to take this as a sign.” 

“We can’t let Alderaan become another Chandrila,” Breha agreed, meeting her husband’s eyes in the mirror. She took a breath and then wiped the stain from her lips so that she could apply a new color. 

“I fear it may already be too late,” Bail admitted. “Why else send such an obvious threat?” 

“We have more presence in the senate than Chandrila, for all their wealth,” Breha said, pausing for a moment to paint her lower lip a deep red. “The empire won’t attack without further provocation.” 

Bail shook his head slowly. 

“My love,” he started, each word heavy as it fell from his lips. “I’ve seen terrible things these last few years. What the empire has done to those who defy the emperor. We have been blessed, there is hardly an imperial presence on Alderaan at all. I… fear that may not last.” 

Breha finished painting her top lip and then turned to face Bail directly. 

“What are you saying?” She asked, the skin around her mouth and eyes tight. 

Bail sighed. “I am saying we must be careful.” 

“And the Alliance?” 

“They need our help,” he said. 

“Our people need our help.” 

“What can we do?” He asked. “How do we protect Alderaan when the Empire grows hungrier every day? How do we protect Winter and Leia?” 

“We knew this was a possibility,” Breha sighed. 

She was right, of course. How many times had they had this same conversation? This certainly wasn’t the first time things had felt dire. From the terrible, wonderful day he brought Leia home, to the disaster on Kashyyyk. Every time the Empire expanded onto a new world, every new horror the Empire unleashed. Every time, it came back to the same conversation: were they putting the people they loved in more danger trying to fight back? Could they afford not to? 

Bailed sighed again, too tired considering the hour. 

“We should go to dinner,” he said. “I don’t want to leave Leia with him a moment longer than necessary.” 

“Leia knows how to handle imperials,” Breha said even as she stood to go with him. “She wouldn’t have survived on Coruscant so long if she didn’t.” 

“I know.” He held his arm out for her to take. “I simply wish she didn’t have to.” 

Just as he had worried, Leia and Skywalker were already in the dining room when they arrived. The two rose from their seats politely, Luke with a pleasant almost-smile on his face, Leia with barely restrained exasperation on hers. Breha smiled and moved to the head of the table, all the grace of a queen in her every move. 

If her white gown had the desired effect on Skywalker, he didn’t show it, but Leia certainly took note, raising a brow in her father’s direction. He simply smiled at her, a promise that they could speak candidly later, and moved to his own seat at his wife’s right hand. 

“Please,” Breha said. “Sit.” 

The table had been laid in a semi-formal manner, similar to their morning meal, but tonight was a display of purely local delicacies. Bail had to wonder at the chef’s choice. Was she showing off to their visitor or hoping to make a point? Either way, it was a pleasant sight. He served Breha a healthy portion of her favorites before filling his own plate. For a few minutes, the only sound was that of ceramic dishware clinking against metal utensils. It was Bail who finally spoke. 

“How goes the investigation on Coruscant?” He asked, looking toward Skywalker, who was seated to his left. 

“So eager to have your daughter back on Imperial Center?” Luke asked, a smirk teasing at his lips. 

“Eager to know she is safe,” he responded. Luke’s lips tightened, as if he was holding back a laugh, and then he smoothed his face out into something more professional.

“Unfortunately, I have no news for you,” he said. “Security at five hundred Republica has swept the apartment for any signs, but the would-be assassin, whoever they are, was thorough.” 

“And if they do not find this being?” Leia asked. “I can’t stay at home forever and I’m sure you can’t follow me around forever either.” 

“Not forever,” he agreed. He swirled the wine in his glass, watching the purple liquid for a moment before taking a sip. Apparently pleased with the taste, he took another sip, then finally continued, “But I will stay as long as the emperor remains unconvinced of your safety.” 

“I admit I’m curious as to his interest,” Leia said, her words slow and careful. She set her own glass to the side and met Luke’s eyes. “I wouldn’t have thought one attack on a new senator such as myself would warrant such attention.” 

“His Imperial Majesty does you a great honor,” Luke said sharply. “And you should be grateful.” 

“We are very grateful,” Bail cut in. “My daughter is simply curious. We haven’t been given such… favor in the past.” 

Luke nodded, accepting that, and took a bite before he spoke again. 

“The emperor has long understood Alderaan’s importance to his Empire,” he said, studying Bail’s face. His eyes flicked to Leia and then back again as he continued, “He was, of course, saddened when you decided to retire from public life, Viceroy. But then, the stress of the Imperial Senate isn’t for everyone. Perhaps it was for the best that you retired before it could take its toll.” 

He wasn’t sure if Luke’s words were intended as a threat, but the women in the room clearly took it that way. Bail nearly jumped as Breha grabbed his leg under the table, gripping him with what he knew was barely restrained anger. As subtle as he could, he laid a hand on hers to offer what comfort he could. Unlike her mother, Leia still had both hands above the table, though she had frozen to stare at the lieutenant. Bail watched her visibly working to calm herself, taking several deep breaths and a drink of water in silence. He could only be thankful how mature and restrained his daughter had become in comparison to her tempestuous childhood. He had known that time in the senate would be good training for her, no matter how little he liked having her there. 

“Lieutenant Skywalker,” she said, her voice pleasant and soft in a way Bail knew she wouldn’t have been able to manage while angry just a few years ago. “I’ve been meaning to ask. Your name is quite striking. That was the name of a general in the Clone Wars, was it not?” 

Oh. 

“A Jedi general, if I’m not mistaken,” Leia went on, her eyebrows raised as if in curiosity as she looked at Skywalker’s face. 

Oh, no. 

“You wouldn’t happen to be related, would you?” She asked, bringing her water glass to her lips as she continued to watch him curiously.

Bail noticed a muscle jump in Skywalker’s jaw and made eye contact with the guard standing near one of the doors to the dining room. He didn’t think the young man would get violent, but he couldn’t be sure and he certainly wasn’t going to take chances with his wife and daughter in the room. 

Rather than go for a weapon, however, Skywalker reached for his wine glass. He broke eye contact with Leia to look at the dark liquid before taking a deep drink and setting the glass back down with a clunk. 

“That tutor of yours taught you well,” he commented, his voice quieter than it had been before, a far away look in his eyes. Then he met Leia’s gaze again. “Did he explain what happened to the Jedi?” 

“Of course he did,” she snapped. “He told me how they were all murdered by the Empire.” 

“Executed,” Luke corrected, voice rising in volume. “They thought they could rise up and take power for themselves after destroying what was left of the Republic with their corrupt war. My father was the only Jedi who fought their treachery. And do you know how he was repaid?”

Leia didn’t respond, just continued to watch him with her jaw tightly clench. 

“They turned on him too,” Luke told her. “A Jedi cut my father down and then murdered my mother for good measure.” 

He took a deep breath, then pressed his lips together into a smile that held no joy and said, “But yes. You are correct. My father was a Jedi general in the Clone Wars.” 

—

“What was she thinking?” 

Bail didn’t usually allow himself to pace like this, but he needed to release some of the tension somehow. He usually preferred to take walks when he needed to calm himself, but before he could allow himself to do so, he needed to have a discussion. 

“The same thing we all were,” Breha answered. She might have looked relaxed, sitting with her legs up in her favorite love seat, a cup of tea steaming as it waited for her near her elbow. But he knew better. Her jaw was tense and she held her hands tightly clasped together as if to restrain herself from violence. “That boy was trying to rile us up. He threatened you.” 

“I’m not so sure he did,” Bail said. “I think he merely called me old.” 

He paused in his pacing and smiled wryly at his wife. “He’s not wrong.” 

Breha scoffed and grabbed the tea she had been ignoring, holding the ceramic cup with both hands, but making no move to actually drink. 

She opened her mouth to respond to that then, only to be interrupted by a knock at the door. There were only a few people who would be coming to see them in their private sitting room and only one they had sent for. 

“Please, come in,” Breha said, not moving from her spot like she might if it were anyone else coming to see them. 

The door opened and in stepped Obi-Wan Kenobi. 

To anyone who hadn’t known him very well before the Purge, Obi-Wan looked very little like the Jedi he once was and much more like a member of the royal household that he had become. He had long since adopted Alderaanian dress, now much more likely to be found in styles similar to Bail himself than anything resembling the traditional Jedi robes he had always preferred before. Bail could admit he had perhaps even grown used to seeing his old friend in the finer clothes he wore now, allowing him to blend into the palace background better than anything as simple as he might have liked to wear. 

Behind closed doors, however, very little had changed. Once he had quietly shut the door behind himself, he bowed respectfully, not in the manner of an Alderaanian subject, but rather with his hands to his thighs in the Jedi style. 

“Your Majesty,” he addressed Breha. She nodded in return and he turned to Bail. “Your Highness. You wished to speak with me?” 

“Obi-Wan,” Bail greeted. He gestured toward the sitting area and the tea service that had been placed on the low table. “Please, sit. Have some tea.” 

Obi-Wan’s lips twitched into a small smile and he sat in the loveseat across the table from Breha. Bail moved to join them as well, lifting Breha’s legs in order to sit with her on the divan. Without missing a beat, she resettled her legs in his lap with a small huff. It was a sign of how comfortable they had gotten with their friend over the years that either of them allowed him to see them like this.

“We had a very interesting discussion with the young Lieutenant Skywalker over dinner tonight,” Breha started, clutching her tea close to her chest and watching their friend closely as he poured himself a cup of tea from the pot. 

“Oh?” Obi-Wan’s voice betrayed nothing but casual interest, but Bail had known him long enough not to be fooled. He knew where this was going. 

“He told us how the Jedi betrayed and murdered his parents,” Breha continued. “And he mentioned meeting Leia’s tutor.” 

Obi-Wan hummed thoughtfully and took a drink of his tea. “So that is what Palpatine has told him? Strange when such a lie could so easily be disproved.” 

“Oh?” Breha’s brows pushed together while her eyes widened. “And who will disprove those lies to him? Hm? You, perhaps?” 

“I should like to hope that we could reach him, yes,” Obi-Wan said, lifting his chin and raising his brows at Breha. 

“Have you finally lost your mind?” Breha hissed. “Already you have endangered everyone in this palace by showing your face to an imperial agent—now you want to, what? Admit that my husband aided the escape of two Jedi? That we have hidden a force-sensitive child and a fugitive Jedi under the Empire’s nose for eighteen years?” 

“Nothing quite so dramatic,” Obi-Wan answered. He took a long drink of tea and then set the cup down. “But it must be by the will of the Force that he is here. To have both of the Skywalker twins in one place after all this time? It cannot be a coincidence.” 

“There is only one Skywalker in this palace,” Breha snapped. “Leave Leia out of this.” 

“I made them both my responsibility when Anakin fell,” Obi-Wan responded. “I owe it to him and to Padme to at least try to reach their son.” 

“The time for saving the boy is past,” Bail cut in. “Leia is our responsibility here and now and you put her at risk by approaching Skywalker like you did.” 

“You can’t only think of yourself, Obi-Wan,” Breha added. Bail rested a hand on her calf to offer what comfort he could. 

“Myself!” Obi-Wan repeated incredulously. 

“You are one of our oldest friends,” Bail interrupted, hoping he could stop this conversation from devolving any further. “Taking risks often served you well in the war, I know. But we cannot afford to do that now. Not with Leia and our people on the line. And not with you on the line either.” 

Obi-Wan bowed his head then, looking at his lap for a long moment. 

“I am not trying to… sacrifice myself,” he said quietly. “If that’s what you think.” 

He looked up again, sighed, and added, “But you are right. I should not have taken that risk with the Lieutenant. Perhaps Leia was right, too, and I should leave Aldera for the time being.” 

“Not now,” Breha disagreed. “He’s already seen you and we may end up needing your help if things get worse. If he’s as powerful as his father…” 

“Leia can protect herself,” Obi-Wan reminded her. “She has been training for just such an event.” 

“Training and engaging in an actual fight are very different things and you know it,” Breha said. “I, for one, would certainly feel better if her teacher were there to support her.” 

“Of course, your majesty,” Obi-Wan said. 

“Let us hope it does not come to that,” Bail said. 

“And may the Force be with us if it does,” Obi-Wan added. 

—

“Your Highness.” 

Leia shifted, took a deep breath, and rolled away from the voice.

“Your Highness, please wake up.” 

It was still dark out, she was certain. The sun usually woke her in the morning if C-3PO didn’t and that voice was definitely not C-3PO. She blinked open her eyes and confirmed that it was definitely still dark out. 

“What?” She tried to ask, her throat dry and her voice thready as she lifted herself up onto one elbow. It was one of the palace attendants, Elah, who stood near the bed with a concerned look on her face. She was already dressed, but her hair looked hastily done, her face clean of any makeup. 

“What happened?” Leia demanded, sitting up fully now and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She clearly needed to be up for whatever was going on. 

“I’m sorry to disturb your rest, Princess,” Elah said, her voice still hushed and her brows pinched together. 

“It’s fine, Elah,” she responded, pulling the first dress she saw from her wardrobe and laying it out on the bed before reaching for a pair of boots. “What happened?” 

“It’s—your parents asked me to wake you,” Elah said, looking at her feet as Leia pulled her sleeping garments off. “It’s Captain Akala, ma’am.” 

“What about her?” Leia demanded, her patience running thin. The dress she had pulled out was simple enough that she didn’t need help putting it on, so she pulled it over her head and made her way to her vanity to see about getting her hair under control. 

“She’s,” Elah hesitated. “She’s dead, your highness.” 

Leia paused in the middle of untying the scarf she had worn to bed to protect her hair. 

“What?” 

Elah had wide eyes and, Leia realized after a moment, looked to be on the verge of tears. 

“Captain Akala is dead,” she said, voice shaky but not broken. 

Feeling as though she’d been shot through with a bolt of electricity, Leia yanked the silk scarf off her head and set about undoing the high bun she’d slept in. 

“What happened?” She demanded. “And when? Cicera was with me for my evening walk last night.” 

“I don’t know, ma’am,” Elah told her. “Your parents asked me to bring you to them quietly.” 

“Yes, very well,” Leia responded, fingers moving as quickly as she could move them to make a simple braid. She wrapped her hair up tight in a spiral at the back of her head and pinned it all down—it was simple but would have to do. It could be no coincidence that the head of her personal security team had been murdered only days since she got her own imperial stalker. 

“Let’s go,” she said once she had finished her hair and pulled her boots on. 

They moved through the halls quietly and without turning any extra lights on. It was not the first time she had been woken in the middle of the night for a secret meeting with her parents, but it never did get more pleasant. She was glad Winter wasn’t here for any of this, if only so there was at least one Organa getting full nights of sleep. Of course, she wasn’t privy to Winter’s current mission, so perhaps her sister wasn’t having any better sleep than the rest of them. 

Elah brought her to the lounge her parents and Obi-Wan most often convened in, for casual evenings and important meetings alike. Despite the cozy look of the room, it was perhaps the most secure part of the building and certainly the best place to avoid prying ears. Much as she expected, Obi-Wan was sitting with her parents, a cup of tea already in hand as she walked in. 

“What happened?” Leia demanded, while Elah quietly excused herself from the room. Only once the door had slid firmly shut did anyone respond. 

“Cicera Akala was murdered,” Obi-Wan announced grimly. Leia sat in the chair directly to his right and As he went on, he leaned forward and poured a cup of tea, which he handed to Leia, “Not even an hour ago. And, yes, before you ask, we checked for Skywalker’s whereabouts. As far as we can tell, he has not left his rooms since he went to bed last night.” 

“How was she killed?” Leia asked. She looked to her parents, both of whom had matching pinched expressions on their faces, lips thin as they listened. “And why has the alarm not been sounded?” 

“It appears as if she shot herself in the head with her own blaster,” Obi-Wan informed her.

Leia paused. “That sounds like a suicide,” she said. “How are you so certain it was murder?” 

“There was tampering at her window,” her mother said, her lips pinched and tight. “And some of her things were missing. Namely, her comm and datapad.”

“The only reason we know what happened,” Obi-Wan added, “is because her lover found her dead in the night and came immediately to us.” 

“Lover?” Leia repeated. “I wasn’t aware Cicera was seeing anyone.” 

“Not just anyone,” her father said, shaking his head. “It seems she and Raymus had gotten very close.” 

“Captain Antilles?” Leia asked, surprised. She had never known Antilles to be a romantic sort of man, but she supposed it shouldn’t be too shocking for him to have a private life. Their work was often dangerous and, perhaps given their shared service to Leia’s family, it made perfect sense for him and Cicera to form a relationship. 

Her father nodded and then said, “That isn’t everything, unfortunately. While searching her room for clues to what happened, Raymus found a transmitter.” 

He pulled the unit out of his pocket, a small, unassuming thing, and set it on the table. 

“I… I don’t understand,” Leia admitted, though the mood in the room made it clear there was something amiss. She had a creeping suspicion she knew what was about to be said, but it just didn’t make sense. 

“It transmits imperial codes,” her father explained. He took a deep breath through his nose and closed his eyes for a moment. “She was almost certainly a spy.” 

“That’s impossible!” Leia exclaimed, feeling her ears and cheeks grow hot. “She was Alderaanian. She’s been on my staff for years. This makes no sense.” 

“We have similar questions,” Obi-Wan told her. 

“If she was an imperial all along, why haven’t I been arrested?” Leia asked. “She's been with me for every mission…” 

Leia paused, thinking back. Could she have been sabotaging Leia’s missions? But no, that didn’t make sense either. How many times had she managed successful hand offs or run through blockades to deliver supplies? 

“Unless,” Leia murmured, thinking as she spoke, “unless I wasn’t the target.” 

She felt her eyes widen as she realized. Her mother had a hand to her forehead, her father’s arm wrapped around her shoulder. They knew. They had already come to the same realization. 

“But I’ve never been to a rebel base in person with my crew,” Leia breathed. “I was never with the fleet. Stars, she was just biding her time, wasn’t she?” 

“It would make sense,” Obi-Wan confirmed. 

Another terrible thought occurred to her then: “Did Captain Antilles kill her?” 

“No,” her father answered firmly. “He wouldn’t have done it like that.” 

She noted that he didn’t deny the possibility that the man could have killed his lover, but then it made sense. Captain Antilles had been a part of the rebellion from the very beginning and had been with her father during the Clone Wars before that. He was certainly capable of killing and may very well have killed Cicera if he had discovered she was a spy before her death, but he would not have made it look like a suicide. 

“The question remains,” Leia’s mother said, speaking for the first time this morning, “who in this palace killed Cicera Akala? Spy or not, she was a citizen of Alderaan. How could this happen?” 

“Could it have been Skywalker?” Leia wondered. 

“Why would he kill a fellow imperial?” Obi-Wan asked. 

“Why, indeed,” her father said. 

“Who else could it be?” Leia asked. “Skywalker is the only new face, even if they were technically on the same side. And imperials have been known to infight for status.” 

“Perhaps,” her father conceded. “But that doesn’t change the fact that we have no evidence that he ever left his room. It also doesn’t change the fact that we absolutely cannot make accusations right now.”

“What can we do?” Leia demanded, clenching her hands into fists. “We’re surrounded on all sides, it seems. And… everything I know about the rebellion should now be considered compromised.” 

Her father sighed. “Unfortunately,” he agreed. “I’ll have to comm Mon as soon as possible.” 

“I’m not sure how safe it would be for you to return to Coruscant at this point,” Obi-Wan added. 

“That’s ridiculous,” Leia argued. “I won’t sit on my hands while everyone around me fights. We will simply have to be more careful about information.” 

“Leia,” her mother snapped, raising her head and holding her hands tightly in her lap. “The emperor could have you executed for what he almost certainly already knows.” 

“And what does he know?” Leia asked. “That I have lost ships? That I provided supplies to refugees?” 

“It doesn’t matter what he can confirm!” her mother cried, her voice much higher in pitch than usual. Her usually tan skin had gone pale and her lips looked tight and strained as she went on. “He’ll kill you to make a point. You think he won’t?” 

“He hasn’t so far,” Leia argued. “And he’s apparently known I’m a rebel for years. What would change now?” 

“How about an imperial spy dead in our palace?” 

Leia winced. “I can’t just resign,” she tried then. “I may as well admit to assassinating her myself then.” 

“We may have some time to decide,” Obi-Wan reasoned. Then he looked at Leia and said, “This may also be a good time for us to meditate on your next move.” 

Leia grimaced. She didn’t want to admit to him that she hadn’t meditated since the last time they had done so together, though she knew he’d be able to tell anyway. She nodded reluctantly. 

“Go,” her father said softly, gesturing toward the door. “You two meditate. Perhaps the Force will provide answers. We will prepare how to address Captain Akala’s death to the household.” 

“Thank you, Papa,” Leia said. “I love you both.” 

—

“How long has it been, young one?” Obi-Wan asked. He already had his eyes closed, so she knew he couldn’t see her red cheeks, but she thought he must know anyway. He sat cross legged on a cushion across from her in the room that had been set aside for their lessons as long as Leia could remember, his palms pressed gently to his knees. Leia had taken the same pose, but she felt none of the serenity her teacher always seemed to give off. 

“A while,” she hedged, studying the plain wall over Obi-Wan’s shoulder for a moment before closing her eyes finally. 

“You haven’t meditated since our last lesson,” he said then, not even bothering to make it a question. 

“No, master,” she admitted. “I haven’t had time…” 

“It’s important to take the time, Leia,” he said. “You know this, my dear. It is important to center yourself—” 

“—In the Force,” she finished for him. “Yes, I know. But how can I be centered when surrounded by such darkness? The things I’ve seen…” 

“All the more reason to try,” he answered. “You don’t need to be perfect, Leia. No one is saying that. But you must always try to find what peace you can, lest you fall down the path to the Dark Side.” 

“I’m angry,” she admitted. “And I don’t know how not to be when there is so much injustice in the galaxy.” 

The only sound in the room for a long moment was the sound of breathing. Leia quickly found herself matching her teacher’s inhales and exhales. 

Then, “You know that your parents do not agree with the old Jedi code.” 

Leia nodded, then realized he couldn’t see her. “Yes.” 

“It is important to remember that feelings like anger and fear are natural,” he continued slowly. “The code… it’s open to interpretation. But I do not believe that it’s wrong. Anger is one pathway to the Dark Side, yes. But you cannot cut yourself off from the Force because you feel anger. I imagine you wouldn’t be the kind, generous young woman you are today if you did not feel anger toward the injustices you have witnessed. It is when you let your anger control your actions that you fall.” 

Leia breathed in, breathed out, and considered his words. This wasn’t the first time they had discussed the Jedi code and its many interpretations. She knew, too, that he had had terrible experiences with fallen Jedi, though he would not tell her about it in any detail. 

“Meditation is important,” Obi-Wan continued, “because it allows you to pause and consider your actions, your motivations, and how your emotions can serve you, rather than control you.” 

“I think I understand,” Leia murmured. Obi-Wan merely hummed in response and then fell silent. 

She breathed in. She was angry and she was afraid. One of her own people had been a spy for the Empire and she had no idea why. Luke Skywalker was the son of a Jedi but chose to serve a Sith Lord. Her teacher, who was more like family to her than anything else, had to live in hiding and teach her in secret. 

She breathed out. 

Ever so slowly, she could feel the palace around her waking up as her senses stretched outward. She could feel every being like small, warm lights, all connected by the Force. Something felt different from usual, however. 

She breathed in. 

The death of a sentient in the building could account for it and she could certainly feel traces of that, could feel where Cicera, for all her faults, had joined with the Force. But no, that wasn’t the disturbance she felt. It was like an aura covering the whole building, a bright light that covered everything around them. 

“What is that?” She asked, only realizing she had spoken out loud when the sound of her own voice broke the silence. 

“Ah, you felt it,” Obi-Wan said. 

She opened her eyes, blinking as her connection to every living being around them slowly faded back to the background. He was studying her face, his head tilted to the side thoughtfully. 

“You know what it is?” 

He dipped his chin forward then raised his gaze back to her. “I believe so,” he told her. “I believe that that is young Lieutenant Skywalker.” 

Leia’s head jerked back. “Skywalker?” She repeated. “But this feels so…” she closed her eyes and tried to give a name to what she had felt, then simply said, “light.” 

Obi-Wan smiled. “You feel much the same way in the Force,” he told her. 

Her eyes went wide. “Am I that obvious?” She asked. “Do you think the emperor…?” 

He shook his head. “I never would have allowed you to travel to Coruscant if I thought he could sense you so easily,” he said. “No, your presence is more… diffused, I think, than his. You blend in. But it is the same light.” 

“I don’t understand,” she said. “If he’s in Palpatine’s pocket, how can he be so light?”

“A good question,” Obi-Wan said, raising a hand from his knee to stroke his chin. “A very good question.” 

“Is this why you wanted to meet him so badly?” Leia asked.

His mouth twisted into a chagrined smile. “Part of the reason,” he told her, dipping his head in a small nod. Then he slowly unfolded his legs and made to stand, not meeting her eye and—oh. She felt like an idiot. Luke’s father had been Obi-Wan’s apprentice before he was murdered by Darth Vader. Of course he wanted to meet his old padawan’s son. 

Wordlessly, Leia stood herself, wincing sympathetically at the sound of Obi-Wan’s joints popping as he stood. He smiled when he noticed her look. 

“Appreciate your youth while you have it,” he advised, a small smile on his lips and his brows raised. “It won’t last nearly as long as you think it will, trust me.” 

Leia laughed. “Of course, master,” she answered. 

They parted ways after that. Obi-Wan had his own business to attend to and Leia needed to deal with whatever the fallout of Captain Akala’s death may be. She found her parents quickly, both in her mother’s office. 

“Leia, good,” her mother said, nodding as she came in. “We need to go over the plan quickly and then we must make an announcement.” 

Leia nodded, pulling out the chair next to her father’s, placed in front of her mother’s grand desk. 

“We cannot admit that we know Akala was a spy,” Breha explained, spreading her hands wide in front of her. “And we cannot accuse Lieutenant Skywalker. We have announced that she was killed in the line of duty, protecting you.” 

Leia opened her mouth to dispute that, but stopped when her mother raised a hand. 

“It explains her death neatly and allows us to maintain ignorance as to her status with the Empire,” she pointed out. “And it spares her family pain they don’t deserve.”

“And continues this ridiculous charade that there is an assassin out for my life,” Leia snapped, “while also telling her killer that we know it wasn’t suicide.” 

“I wouldn’t consider that entirely a charade,” her father said, raising a brow at her. “There was a real incendiary device in your apartment. Our suspicions about the culprit are only that—suspicions.” 

“The only threat to my life now is Skywalker,” Leia said. “And he really won’t leave if we hand him such an easy excuse to stay.” 

“Perhaps,” Bail agreed, “but the enemy we know is much safer than another enemy in the shadows.” 

Leia huffed, but had to admit he was right about that, at least. 

“We must also reevaluate everyone in our employ who is aware of our ties to the alliance,” Breha said, meeting both Leia and her father’s eyes. “But we should be careful. We cannot start an inquisition among our own people.” 

They both nodded in agreement. 

“Good, with that settled,” Breha nodded decisively, “Leia, please excuse us. Your father and I have other things we need to discuss.” 

“Yes, Mama,” Leia acquiesced. Pausing to kiss her father on the cheek, she left the office behind and made her way back down to the residential levels. She needed to collect Skywalker and start her senatorial work, as silly as it felt at the moment. 

As it turned out, she didn’t need to look very hard for the man. He found her as soon as she set foot in the residential section, raising a brow at the sight of her. Somewhat self-consciously, Leia realized she hadn’t had a chance to put on any makeup and she wasn’t really sure what the state of her hair was after she had put it up so hastily this morning. 

“Skywalker,” she greeted brusquely. 

“Senator,” he returned pleasantly. “I heard what happened. I hope you’re feeling all right. It must have been terribly upsetting for you.” 

Nothing in his tone gave away that he knew any more than he seemed to, but Leia couldn’t help her suspicion. 

“It was,” she said, not entirely a lie. 

“I know that Captain Akala was in your employ for several years,” he went on. “It must be a great loss for you.” 

“It is,” she agreed. She looked away and then asked, “Have you eaten breakfast yet?” 

He shook his head, his lips stretching into a small smile when she nodded at that. 

“Let’s go,” she said. “I haven’t eaten either and, despite what happened, I have a lot of work to do today.” 

“No mourning period for your employee?” he asked lightly.

“Unfortunately, the Senate does not stop work for anyone,” Leia told him, doing her best not to grind her teeth together. 

Once the official announcement had been made, word of Captain Akala’s death in the line of duty spread throughout the day and Leia ended up spending more of the day fielding concerned visitors and condolences than actually getting any work done. By the afternoon, she had a headache that had her turning the tint on the window in her office dark enough that very little light could come in from outside. 

And throughout it all, Skywalker was there, watching her as he pretended to guard her. She wondered at his presence in the Force that had felt so light and warm when she reached out that morning. How could someone with such light in them work for the Empire? How could he perpetuate the sorts of evils the Empire required of its agents to continue its endless expansion throughout the galaxy? 

She couldn’t understand it and Skywalker himself certainly wasn’t giving anything away. Even when she took a moment to stretch her senses in the Force, she got nothing off of him. Up close, it was difficult to even be sure that that light aura was coming from him. Whatever he was thinking behind those cryptic smiles, she couldn’t sense. 

The next several days followed in a similar, uneasy calm. Skywalker followed her during the day until she started to feel almost used to his quiet presence as she went about her business. She wasn’t able to do any work for the rebellion, which left her feeling useless and restless, but she knew it was for the best. As it turned out, Obi-Wan may too have had a point about daily meditation. At the very least, it gave her a bit of time away from everything else in her life. She thought it helped being here on Alderaan as well. Even with recent events, Alderaan was nothing at all like the constant storm of sensations and darkness on Coruscant. 

Then, nearly as suddenly as everything had started, it abruptly came to an end. 

She was in the middle of writing a response to a proposed bill the senator from Pantora had put forward when a low chime interrupted the silence. Confused, she looked up to find Skywalker standing up from his seat on the divan. 

“Excuse me,” he said, leaving the room without any further explanation. 

Leia blinked, then stood to follow. She did not want him going off on his own. By the time she’d reached the hallway outside her office, however, he was nowhere in sight. Huffing in irritation, she noted the interns walking a ways down the hall. 

“You two,” she called out to them, watching them jump at her voice. “Did you see where Lieutenant Skywalker went?” 

They both shook their heads quickly and then continued on their way, looking nervous. Leia let out an irritated huff and turned back toward her office, already thinking about having palace security look for the man. She needn’t have worried, however, as the man in question was marching toward her, having apparently gone the opposite direction she had guessed. 

“Skywalker,” she snapped, irritated that he had managed to sneak up on her. “Where did you go off to?” 

A smile flashed across his lips so quickly she almost missed it as he came to a stop in front of her. 

“My apologies, Senator,” he said, not sounding apologetic in the least. “I’m afraid my assignment here has come to an end.” 

Leia’s brows flew up in surprise. “Oh?” She stared at him and then smoothed her features back out into polite disinterest. She did not want to seem too eager to see him gone. 

“Will you be needing a ship to fly you back to Imperial Center, Lieutenant?” she asked. 

“No,” he responded easily. “A ship has already been sent for me. I’ll be leaving in a few hours.”

She couldn’t help but ask, “No longer concerned for my safety?” 

Skywalker smiled, amusement clear as he looked at her. “I have reassured the emperor that your security team has things well in hand,” he told her. “Will you see me off before I go? I need to get my things together now, but I wouldn’t want to leave without a farewell.” 

Leia narrowed her eyes but agreed. 

She was still wondering about the request as she stood on the airstrip not quite three hours later with her father and Captain Antilles, watching an imperial shuttle land with some trepidation. Yet, no stormtroopers came out to arrest her when the ramp lowered—it seemed as if Skywalker truly had simply wanted to say goodbye. 

“Stay safe,” he said, smiling crookedly at her. 

“I’ll do my best,” she answered wryly, not sure where this easy rapport had come from. He reached out a hand as if to shake hers and she raised a brow, but allowed it. It was the first time he had touched her in the entire time he’d been with them, she realized. 

She also realized he had pressed something small and plastic into her hand as he did so. 

He made no mention of it as he stood back, nodding politely at her father and turning on his heel to leave. Then, as if remembering something, he turned back to them over his shoulder and said, “Oh, perhaps you can pass along my regards to your tutor as well?” 

Leia frowned in response to that, but said nothing as he continued toward the ship with his small pack of personal items slung over his shoulder. Together with her father and Captain Antilles, she stood and watched the shuttle take off without a word. Only once it had disappeared from sight did she look down at what Skywalker had given her. 

It was a data chip. 

“Father,” she said, looking up at him with wide eyes, “I think we need to view what’s on this.” 

The looks of surprise on the faces of both men beside her might have been funny at another time. As it was, Leia had a very bad feeling about this. 

\--

There was no official war room in the palace, but the conference room next to the queen’s office served the purpose just as well. Leia had collected her mother and Obi-Wan while Captain Antilles carefully disconnected the hologram projector from any other systems, in case this was some sort of virus. Now the five of them stood around the table, the lights in the room dimmed, as she inserted the chip. 

Blue lights lit up and formed into the shape of Lieutenant Skywalker, no longer in the standard gray uniform he had worn each time Leia had seen him in the Senate and here on Alderaan. Rather, it seemed that his uniform was Imperial Intelligence white, tinted blue though it was by the light of the holoprojector. His jaw and his brow were tight, his back ramrod straight, and his hands clasped tightly behind his back as he stared straight ahead. 

“Report of Special Agent Luke Skywalker,” he stated, voice flat, “Regarding the status of the construction of the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station, codenamed Project Stardust. After investigating concerns by Grand Moff Tarkin related to the many delays and setbacks to the completion of the weapon, it is my belief that the decision by Director Krennic to compel Head Engineer Erso into continuing work on this project has almost certainly backfired. While Erso is a talented scientist, his reluctance to follow through with his work has led to a number of questionable design choices that may be considered poorly thought out at best. 

“Despite misgivings about the project, Lord Vader reviewed the plans at length. It is his assessment that the design of the reactor core, while perhaps large enough to live up to its promise of planetary destruction, may be unstable—such that it would allow an enemy fighter to strike a catastrophic blow to the weapon with a single shot.

“This weakness must be corrected before even a demonstration of the weapon’s full power can be performed. While further delays are regrettable, it is imperative that any weakness that could be exploited by enemies of the Empire be found and resolved immediately.

“I have included with my report Lord Vader’s notes for review.” 

The recording ended there, Skywalker’s stiff form disappearing, leaving the conference room in darkness. Captain Antilles cleared his throat, drawing Leia’s stunned attention to where he had moved to switch on the overhead light. 

“Well,” he said, breaking the quiet that had fallen over them. 

Leia’s mother took a step back from the conference table, her hands pressed to her chest. 

“Did he say planetary destruction?” 

“That’s impossible,” Leia murmured, her eyes still wide as she looked around the room at the shocked faces around her. 

“Are those notes included on the chip?” Obi-Wan asked, his voice sounding too loud and too harsh to Leia’s ears. His eyes still looked a touch too wide, but he had straightened his back and already begun to move toward the data port. For the first time in a long time, as he swept around the table, Leia thought she could truly see the military general he once was. 

“Why would Skywalker give this to us?” Leia wondered out loud as Obi-Wan’s fingers flew over the keypad at the computer terminal. A moment later, the conference table was filled again with blue light as the holo projector displayed a wall of text and what looked like engineering blueprints. 

Obi-Wan’s lips were thin, but he was smiling as he answered her question, “There’s still good in him.” 

“If this is true…” Papa started. Leia turned to look up at her father, who had moved to stand between Leia and her mother. He rested a hand on Leia’s shoulder and met her eyes before looking around at everyone else in the room, pausing to make eye contact with each one before moving on. “Then we must destroy this weapon before it can be used.”

Leia nodded firmly, her shock fading as she was filled with determination. 

“We won’t let the Empire get away with this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I mentioned that I love Breha Organa? Her pulmonodes are legitimately so cool and I wish she'd made it onto Clone Wars or another show--I want to see her glowing heart and lungs! And on that note, I think a drama show about Breha and Bail and the early rebellion would be so fabulous.


	4. Dirty Work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the longest chapter so far, coming in at about 7k words! Honestly, among my favorites in the whole fic, so I hope you all enjoy. Also, you may note that a couple of the lines come directly from _A New Hope_ and are not my own.

Air on the Star Destroyer _Adamant_ was cool and dry, a relief after weeks spent planetside on a planet as oppressively humid as Akiva. In a way, it was jarring to be back on board an Imperial ship, with its strong, clean lines and comforting uniformity, but it mostly felt like a breath of fresh air. It helped that the mission on Akiva could only be considered a success, now that Luke had rooted out the traitors who thought the local government could rise up and avoid Imperial taxes. Weeks spent meeting with corrupt local officials, traipsing through the capital and the catacombs beneath it had paid off. He had found the dissenters mere weeks into his infiltration.

His work wasn’t quite over, however. He couldn’t move on until he had confirmation that this little group didn’t have ties to any larger movements. It wouldn’t do to crush the rebellion on Akiva only to have reinforcements returning as soon as the Imperial occupation loosened. Unlike some people, Luke could learn from others’ mistakes. He had certainly been paying attention to the disaster on Lothal. He would not allow anything like that to happen on his watch.

Pulling on the cuffs of his jacket to make sure it was straight, Luke nodded to the guards to be let into the interrogation cell. The door slid open without a sound and Luke stepped down the stairs without bothering to look at the door closing again behind him.

The human lying on the bench looked like he had seen better days. He had clearly fought arrest if the bruises and scrapes Luke could see were any indication, not to mention the drying trail of blood that stained his upper lip. He didn’t move at the sound of boots coming down the stairs, but he shot upright when Luke finally spoke.

“I hope my troops weren’t too rough bringing you in,” he said airily.

“You!” Brentin Wexley snarled, taking in the sight of him in uniform with wide eyes and lowered brows.

“Me,” he agreed, nodding as if Wexley had said something clever.

“What have you done?” He stood from the bench on shaky legs; Luke had to wonder just how rough the stormtroopers had been during the arrests. “You were a spy?”

“I’m certain you already know the answers to those questions." He sighed. “And please, sit. You looked tired.”

Wexley let out a sound that could only be interpreted as a growl, even coming from humanoid vocal cords.

“You don’t have to—” Luke gave a casual shrug—“but I do have questions for you and I think you may be more comfortable that way.”

“I won’t tell you anything,” he snarled, baring his teeth at him. He swayed on his feet, leaving Luke to wonder if he should be concerned about the man passing out.

“I was hoping we could discuss like the civilized people we are,” he told the rebel. “I just need to know everything you know about the Rebel Alliance.”

The rebel’s brows drew together in confusion for a moment, then he narrowed his eyes, raising a hand to brace himself against the wall.

“I don’t know anything about any alliance.” He stepped farther back into his cell so that his back was to the wall and he could lean more of his weight against it. “And I wouldn’t tell you if I did.”

Luke nodded. He’d expected as such. Still, Wexley could be lying or, more likely, he could know more than he realized.

“If you don’t know anything, then answering my questions will be simple.”

“You’re going to execute me either way, aren’t you?” Wexley’s lips twisted in disgust. “What does it matter to me if I tell you anything or not? I have nothing to lose.”

“I’m certain that’s not true,” he commented. “What about Norra and Temmin? I could ask them instead.”

“How dare you!” Brentin shouted, jerking forward onto a leg that Luke suspected was broken. Almost immediately, the rebel collapsed, but even from the floor he looked defiant. “They’re innocent, leave them out of this.”

“I think you’re telling the truth,” he answered, stepping back as Brentin painfully hauled himself back up onto his uninjured leg. It was an effort not to roll his eyes at the clear pride the rebel had in the movement. That wouldn’t last long. “And if you answer my questions truthfully, I’m sure your wife and son will stay right where they are.”

“And why should I trust that you wouldn’t hurt them no matter what I say?” Finally, glaring as he did it, Brentin lowered himself back to the bench while Luke watched. “I know exactly what you imperials do to anyone who tries to stand up for themselves.”

“Do you regret it?” Luke felt the surprise and confusion his question caused and found it mirrored in himself. He tamped it down, though he wasn’t entirely sure where the question had come from. It was just curiosity, nothing more.

“Never.” Wexley’s eyes were hard and determined as he looked up at Luke. “Our people are starving while your Empire throws parades and gives speeches about peace and security. I’d rather die than live on my knees for your parasite of an emperor.”

Luke didn’t let his jaw tighten at the insult, only humming thoughtfully before he nodded.

“You will die,” he informed the man. “You are right about that. Cooperate with me and I can make sure your last days are a little less unpleasant and that your family doesn’t suffer for your crimes.”

Really, he should have expected what happened next, but he was still taken aback when the rebel flung himself at him, clawed hands aimed at his face. A lucky swipe to his cheek drew blood before Luke threw Wexley off of himself and onto the floor where the man cried out as his legs gave out under him. Watching as the rebel collapsed to the floor, Luke pressed a gloved hand to his cheek.

“I didn’t want to do this,” he told the rebel, advancing on him even as he pulled himself up on his elbows and tried to crawl backwards. He hauled Wexley up by an arm and shoved him back onto the bench.

“Don’t touch me!” His voice was filled with fear now, on top of the anger, as he yanked his arm back until Luke let go.

Luke continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted, “Despite your limited understanding of the galaxy, you’re a smart being.”

“You disgust me.” He pulled back as Luke took his gloves off.

“It doesn’t matter what you think of me,” Luke said, studying Wexley’s frightened eyes and reminding himself that this was what happened to traitors who were caught. “I am merely a servant of the Empire.”

He didn’t really need to be touching the prisoner for this to work, but he pressed his palms to the man’s temples anyway, holding his head steady as he focused all of his senses on his presence in the Force. Wexley grabbed at his wrists, tried to push him away, but Luke ignored it.

“You _will_ answer my questions.”

—

Forcing his way into someone’s mind wasn’t a pleasant way to spend time and Luke had spent the entire day doing it. Brentin Wexley had proved to be the most stubborn, but he wasn’t the only conspirator that had been taken in for questioning.

Exhausted, Luke stepped into his private bunk, one luxury of the emperor’s patronage he couldn’t be thankful enough for. Privacy in the imperial military was in short supply and, for all his training and talents, Luke knew that it was only His Majesty’s favor that afforded him a room to himself. He was sweaty, he knew he had gotten some blood on the white fabric of one of his sleeves, and his feet ached from standing. All he wanted to do now was forget everything else that came with such favoritism and try to sleep as long as he could without interruption.

He had just pulled his boots off when his comm chimed, signaling an incoming transmission. Groaning, he eyed the device and shoved his feet back into the boots. There was only one person who contacted him on this frequency and Luke could not afford to leave him waiting.

So much for sleep.

It would have been preferable to move to a conference room of some sort, but he couldn’t afford to delay any further, so he knelt right there next to his bunk and accepted the transmission.

“Your Majesty.” He bent his head and waited for the emperor to acknowledge him.

“Young Luke,” the emperor said after a pause. Luke looked up to see a small smile on His Majesty’s lips. “I understand Akiva will no longer be a problem for me?”

“No, Your Majesty.” He kept his voice as even as he could, pushing his growing exhaustion to the side. “The insurrection has been crushed, I saw to it personally. We have already installed a new minister to take over the old government.”

“Good.” The emperor sounded amused, which was hopefully a good sign, though not a guarantee that he would remain in a good mood.

As he had feared, the emperor’s voice turned grim then. “There has been a disturbance in the Force. Have you felt it?”

He had, though it hadn’t felt like a disturbance to him. More like a shift, a growing light in the heart of Palpatine’s dark empire.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” he answered simply.

“I believe a new enemy is rising.” The Force rang with the truth of that and Luke felt a shiver down his spine. He didn’t know what the Force was trying to tell him, but there was most certainly a change on the horizon.

“What is your command?”

“Go to the Death Star,” the emperor ordered. “Your assessment of my weapon’s progress reassured me. Now you will guarantee that all goes according to plan.”

Was this a test? Surely the emperor didn’t know. Luke focused on memories of the assessment he had sent to the emperor months ago, the one in which he praised Krennic’s efforts and marveled at the weapon’s power. He could not afford to think of any other assessment he had recorded, especially considering the utter lack of rebel action.

“As you wish,” Luke said. Without another word, the transmission ended.

Luke remained frozen to the spot for another few minutes, simply breathing, until he unfolded himself from his kneeling position and stood. If the emperor knew what he had done, he wouldn’t have sent Luke to the Death Star now, would he? He would have recalled him to Coruscant for punishment. Unless it was some sort of long game.

Mind whirling with possibilities, Luke reordered his uniform, making sure he looked as put together as possible after such a long day. A glance in the mirror showed him it was likely a lost cause, but he ran his fingers through his hair to smooth it out anyway. The trip from Akiva to wherever the Death Star was currently stationed would hopefully be long enough for him to get cleaned up. Having a short rest before arrival would also be nice, though he tried not to let himself hope.

Gathering up the few things that had been waiting for him in his bunk, he exited his room and made his way toward the hangar bay. It was a fairly long walk, as the _ISD-Adamant_ was a little more than a kilometer and a half in length, but since it was already hours into the ship's night shift, he didn’t have to bother with navigating through very many other personnel. As part of the long term occupying force, the _Adamant_ had matched time to the capital of Akiva, which would have worked nicely for Luke if he were staying. He tried not to think about how long it might be before he would be able to get some sleep.

The deck officer on duty when he arrived had apparently already been informed of Luke’s new assignment, because he had a Lambda-class shuttle prepared with the coordinates. It was a relief that he wouldn’t need to argue with anyone about requisitioning a starship and soon enough he found himself sitting in the pilot’s seat preparing for takeoff.

“Special Agent Skywalker, bay door oh-one-nine is cleared to cross,” came the bored sounding voice of the controller.

“Roger that, Control,” Luke confirmed, running through the last checks on the engine to verify that everything had been set up correctly. “All systems are a go. Ready for takeoff.”

“Confirmed.” A pause, then, “You are cleared for takeoff.”

Takeoff went as smoothly as expected, even without a co-pilot. Lambdas weren’t intended to be flown solo, but Luke had managed fine in the past and he was glad to have some time to himself. He hadn’t gotten the opportunity to fly in far too long, anyway, and it was good to be back in a cockpit, even on a ship that was far from his favorite. He took a deep breath, let it out, then looked over the preloaded coordinates as he set the navicomputer for the jump to hyperspace. He frowned at the computer. What was the Death Star doing so deep in the Core? Even at Krennic’s most ambitious estimates, the battlestation wasn’t supposed to be ready for another several months.

He had a very bad feeling about this.

As he’d expected, the trip wouldn’t take enough time for him to sleep as much as he’d like, but he would be in hyperspace long enough for a sonic shower, a change of clothes and, if nothing else came up, a nap. Of course, that was only if he could get his mind to quiet down enough to sleep. A sonic and a fresh uniform later, he reclined the pilot's chair as far back as it would go—admittedly not that far—and then stared at the ceiling, replaying the emperor’s words in his head.

It wasn’t every mission that the emperor sent him on personally. Not even very many of them, if he were honest with himself. His orders often came from the man, but his master was far too busy to play handler to Luke all the time. What did it mean that he had commed Luke personally to recall him to the Death Star? He had only been sent there in the first place to evaluate Krennic’s competence and that wasn’t even by direct command of the emperor. Moreover, it had been months since he made the decision to change his report on the battle station’s status and he hadn’t heard a thing about it since.

Most worryingly, he hadn’t heard a thing about the rebels making any move against it. If rebels had launched an attack against the weapon, even a failed one, surely he would have heard about it. Did they not believe his message? Did they not even want to attempt to fight against this monstrosity?

Or perhaps the situation was worse than that. Perhaps they had been caught and his message discovered. He had taken all the precautions he could, even eliminating the ISB agent on the princess’s staff to avoid word of his deception getting out. Now, on his way back to the very weapon he had attempted to sabotage, he had to wonder how badly he’d miscalculated.

Finally his exhaustion won out over his worries and he fell into a dreamless sleep that lasted right up until the ship rang out the alert before the exit from hyperspace. In the end, he had managed nearly two hours of sleep, though it felt more like it had been a few minutes. Rubbing his hands over his eyes, he brought his seat back into the upright position and began preparations for landing.

The sight of the Death Star filled the view port as soon as he re-entered real space. Just as it had the first time he saw it, the station left him breathless for a moment from the sheer size. Even a super star destroyer was dwarfed by it; his little shuttle must look like a spec on its surface. It was large enough that he had to account for changes in gravity around it as he made his way into the hanger bay he was directed to by star traffic control.

He sighed.

The technology behind it was astounding, yes, but the Force cried out in horror. Luke hadn’t been so certain of anything else in his life: this weapon shouldn’t exist.

He wasn’t the only one who thought so—not even the only one on board, he realized. As he docked the shuttle, he felt the cool, comforting presence of his father awaiting his arrival. He reached out to him in the Force, but if he was hoping for a sign as to what awaited him, he was sadly disappointed. Nothing in his father revealed anything amiss, which could be a good sign or it could merely mean that Lord Vader was no more knowledgeable about the emperor’s plans than Luke was.

His father was standing in the hangar bay, a lonely figure in black without his usual contingent of stormtroopers at his back. Luke smiled as he came down the ramp. It was a rare treat to have a moment alone with a man as busy as his father, even if he was here for business rather than pleasure.

“My son,” he greeted, a small dip of his head and a fleeting sense in the Force the only indication that he was pleased to see Luke. He looked about as relaxed as he ever did, his thumbs hooked into his belt and his feet shoulder width apart.

Luke’s smile widened and he nodded his head back as he responded, “Father.”

“Come.” His father was already turning away with a sweep of his cape. “We must prepare for the demonstration.”

“Demonstration?” Luke asked, doing his best to ignore the cold shivers that sent down his spine as they quickly left the hangar behind. He had to walk faster than he normally would to keep up with his father’s large steps, but that was nothing new. As a child, he’d had to practically run to keep up with him.

“Grand Moff Tarkin is impatient to show the galaxy the full might of his greatest monstrosity.” His father’s voice was dripping with disdain as he spoke.

“So it is ready then?” He tilted his head to the side to look up at his father’s mask as they walked.

A sharp nod. “It has been tested already.”

Luke bit the inside of his cheek and took a deep breath. For a moment, he held it, then let it go. He would consider exactly what that meant later.

“I see,” he responded at last, keeping his voice as calm as he could. If it came out a little flat, his father didn’t comment. “What is the target?”

He racked his brain, thinking through what could be this deep into the Core that Tarkin would see as a sufficient example of the Death Star’s true power.

The hallway they had entered filled briefly with a squad of stormtroopers, who stopped as soon as they caught sight of Darth Vader to salute. Luke and his father continued past without a word, only speaking again once they had reached another empty hallway.

Then, as if there hadn’t been an interruption, Vader answered, “Tarkin has chosen Alderaan for the demonstration.”

Luke’s footsteps stuttered to a halt and his lips parted as he turned to stare at his father. Pausing as well, his father rested a heavy hand on Luke’s shoulder and urged him onward.

His words sounded oddly distant in his ears when he started, “Won’t the Senate—?”

“The Senate is no longer of concern,” his father interrupted. “His majesty has finally disposed of that last remnant of corruption from the old Republic.”

Luke didn’t know what to say. The Senate had been in place for thousands of years, outlasting the Republic itself. He had no more love for the institution than his father did, especially not after the time he’d spent working in the Senate building, but how could such an ancient body simply be no more?

More thoughts to consider later.

“Alderaan is a very powerful world, even without the Senate,” Luke pointed out.

“Alderaan is a hotbed of rebellion,” his father responded. “You should know this after your work there.”

“I believe that my recommendation after my time stay in Aldera was that sanctions would likely suffice to put a stop to any defiance.” Luke bit the inside of his cheek, trying to remain calm. “Or a full occupation if that didn’t work.”

“The Grand Moff disagrees.”

“And you, Father?”

“He has the emperor’s ear,” his father said, rather than answering the question. Luke scowled and didn’t bother to hide it. This whole place had him dangerously on edge, and his father’s refusal to speak plainly with him most certainly did not help.

“But you do not?”

His father’s hand, still resting on Luke’s shoulder, tightened enough that it would likely leave a bruise, and forced him to stop walking. Luke turned his face up to meet his father’s eyes through the mask, refusing to take the question back. A long time seemed to pass as they stood in the middle of another empty hallway, just watching each other, until finally his father moved again. His hand dropped from Luke’s shoulder and then he swept forward without another word. Only the even sound of the respirator breathing for him and their boots as they walked filled the silence for the rest of their trip to the command bridge.

The command deck on the Death Star was bustling with personnel preparing, Luke assumed, for the “demonstration”. Despite the low level buzz of excitement and anticipation he could feel practically radiating off everyone on the deck, the room was quiet. If there were ever one single thing Luke should admire about the Grand Moff, it was his ability to take control of a crowd.

The man himself stood tall and proud on the walkway overlooking the command crew in the pits with his lips spread wide and his eyes hooded in satisfaction. A quick look around the room showed no sign of Director Krennic, leaving Luke to wonder just what the man had done to get himself kicked off of his own project. Another moment of consideration and Luke nearly laughed to himself. Likely, the man had only maintained his position as long as he had because no one else wanted the job of overseeing construction of a heretofore impossible weapon.

He wondered momentarily if Krennic had survived the demotion, then decided he didn’t care enough to consider it further.

“Ah, Lord Vader,” Tarkin said, turning toward them. His gaze landed on Luke next and he raised a brow as he continued, “And Special Agent Skywalker.”

Luke snapped to attention, bringing his heels together and saluting. “Sir.”

“Today is a historic day, gentleman.” Tarkin sounded pleased as he turned away to face the large view port. “We are about to witness the start of a new era for our great Empire.”

“Don’t be too proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed,” Vader told him imperiously. Luke stayed very still, certain he did not want to get in the middle of this particular dispute. “The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.”

It seemed Luke needn’t have worried about Tarkin’s reaction to such open criticism, however, since he looked merely amused at the statement, eyeing the Sith Lord beside him as if he’d made a joke.

“This battle station’s power is much more than the capabilities of the weapon,” Tarkin said. “Soon it shall be a symbol of the Empire, much like that mask you wear is a symbol of your particular work.”

No, Luke should have worried instead about his father’s temper, which he could feel washing over him like a tidal wave. A warning rang out in the Force, loud enough to Luke’s senses that he winced, only moments before the alarms sounded out loud. For a moment, he was stuck wondering just what his father had done to set off the alarms, before one of the deck officers called out an explanation.

“Sir, we have several small crafts incoming out of hyperspace,” he announced. “Ten and counting. Fifteen. Twenty.”

The smile on Tarkin’s face disappeared, though he still did not look as worried as Luke now felt.

“Prepare the turbo lasers.”

“Yes, sir!”

Luke remained stock still a step behind his father, feeling as though all of the blood was draining out of his body.

“Such small crafts have no hope of standing up to the Death Star,” Tarkin announced. Then he smiled again and turned back in Luke’s direction. “Skywalker.”

“Yes, sir,” Luke responded automatically, trying to focus on the moment and not on the fact that he was standing in the middle of a station that was very likely about to be destroyed.

“Propaganda is your specialty, isn’t it?” It wasn’t, but Luke didn’t bother to correct him, just awaited orders. “Prepare an open broadcast frequency. I want to connect to every communications and space relay in this sector.”

“Yes, sir.”

Orders received, Luke hurried to find stairs into the pit, his mind already moving toward the objective. It wasn’t a terribly difficult task, not since the Empire had taken complete control of the holonet all those years ago, and Tarkin had been nearly right when he asked Luke about propaganda. Counterintelligence often relied on the ability to spread information quickly, which sometimes meant broadcasting messages far and wide. He had set up such relays before with much less at hand than could be found onboard the largest Imperial station in the galaxy.

Objective achieved, Luke looked up at the catwalk and announced, “Sir, main bridge comm is ready to broadcast on your order.”

“Good,” Tarkin answered, already striding toward the comm platform at the front of the room. “Begin broadcast now.”

“Beginning broadcast.” Luke pulled headphones on and started the countdown, “In four, three...”

He fell silent, counting the last two numbers with his fingers.

In his ears, Tarkin’s voice was loud and clear and, in front of him, a small example of the holo projection that would play out for anyone in the sector with their holoprojector connected.

“Citizens of the Galactic Empire.” He pronounced each word clearly, his accent crisp and aristocratic. “This is Grand Moff Tarkin, broadcasting to all known subspace frequencies and communication relays in an effort to reach the terrorist group known as the Rebel Alliance.”

He paused, as if letting an audience react. “Our great Empire has come under attack yet again by rebels who wish to tear down the peace, order, and security we have fought for these past years. Rebel ships were launched from the supposedly peaceful planet of Alderaan, which has long claimed to be ruled by pacifism.

“The Empire will not stand for such lies and we will not surrender! We will not give into the anarchy these criminals so desire.

“To the so-called Rebel Alliance, I have a simple ultimatum. You will surrender now, or we will be forced to demonstrate the true power of the Empire: we will destroy Alderaan.

“You have one standard hour to lay down your arms.”

Luke let out a shaky breath and cut the broadcast connection. As he took off the headset, Tarkin began to speak again, sounding completely at ease.

“Admiral, prepare the weapon to be fired.”

Luke’s eyes widened as he thought back to everything he had read about the weapon before. Tarkin wasn’t planning on bothering to give the rebels an hour. Once the weapon was prepped, it would need to be discharged, regardless of any desire to stop it. The ultimatum itself was a ruse, and unless the rebel attack succeeded, the planet beneath them would be decimated in less than thirty minutes.

“Grand Moff, sir,” came the voice of another officer in the pit with Luke. “The rebel ships are too small for our turbolasers to effectively target.”

“We’ll have to destroy them ship to ship,” Vader cut in. “Get the crews to their fighters.”

“Yes, Lord Vader.”

Vader himself was already moving and Luke saw his chance to get off this station. He leapt up the stairs out of the pit and jogged to catch up with his father.

“Lord Vader, sir,” he called out, throwing up a perfunctory salute in order to maintain appearances in front of the crew. “Requesting permission to join the star pilots, sir.”

Anyone else might have wondered what an intelligence officer was doing requesting to join a dog fight, but his father knew well that he was a talented pilot.

“Granted.”

The trip to their ships was thankfully short. His father’s custom TIE-Advanced was kept in a hangar much closer to the command deck than the one they had come from less than an hour earlier. It helped, too, that troopers and officers alike darted out of the way as Darth Vader made his way through the battle station with large and fast enough steps that Luke had to jog to keep up.

Unlike his father, Luke didn’t have a personal starfighter, but it was easy enough to commandeer one with Vader’s authorization codes. TIEs were by far not Luke’s favorite ship to fly, but he could admit that there were advantages. Standard TIE fighters were streamlined to an extreme degree, such that they were much faster and more agile than any other ships out there. Unfortunately, the price for speed and maneuverability had been the loss of shielding, hyperdrive capabilities, and—most controversially—life-support systems.

For Luke, it merely meant having to quickly and unselfconsciously strip out of his uniform and into a flight suit that was fully sealed and equipped to handle exposure to the vacuum of space.

“Skywalker,” his father called out as soon as Luke was dressed and ready. “You’ll be flying with Black Squadron.”

“Yes, sir.” He gave a quick salute and then darted away to find his ship. It was no surprise that his father would want to keep him close, and on any other day he might have been ecstatic over the rare privilege of flying with the Empire’s most elite pilots. Today, he only felt anxious to get off this doomed battle station.

He had a single moment to gather himself, sitting in the cockpit and refamiliarizing himself with the controls as the deck officer called out takeoff orders to each squadron. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The Force was… unsettled was the only word he could think to describe it. It felt like the moment right before a fall, as if he had just stepped off the edge of a cliff and was suspended in the air for the smallest fraction of a second.

Then he let his breath out and opened his eyes.

“Black Squadron, you are cleared for takeoff.”

His father, as Black Leader, lifted off first, but it was only moments later that all twelve starfighters had shot out of the hangar and into space. The Death Star had no true atmosphere unless one counted the shielding, but it was still large enough to create its own low level gravity field. Luke was probably the only pilot in the squadron who hadn’t run any maneuvers here, and he came out a little slower than intended. A quick adjustment and he had rejoined in formation with the rest of the squadron, but he realized he would have to be careful to avoid any more rookie mistakes like that.

“Comscan is tracking rebel ships entering sector 3.”

He needed to focus.

“Black Squadron.” His father sounded firm and confident, which was a welcome balm on his nerves as they flew into the battle zone. “Move to intercept.”

Luke pulled up on the steering column as his viewport filled with stars—and rebel Y-Wings. Each one was painted in slightly different colors and it seemed like every ship Luke’s eyes fell on was more battered than the last. How the rebellion had lasted this long was a mystery considering it looked like it was a miracle their ships even escaped atmo.

Still, they came equipped with powerful shields and turret guns that could cripple a TIE in one shot. Not to be underestimated.

“Eliminate all targets,” his father continued, just before sweeping in a stunningly fast arc, down toward the station and directly into the path of one of the Y-wings. That particular pilot didn’t stand a chance, almost immediately decimated by Vader’s precisely aimed laser cannons.

With that, Luke was swept into the battle. Swinging to to his left, up and away from the station in formation with Black Ten and Eleven, he made quick work of another rebel who he sincerely hoped was a rookie. If this was the best that the rebellion had to offer, then they really had no chance of making the shot that would destroy the Death Star.

A sharp sensation in the Force had him jerking in the opposite direction a moment later, just before a shrill beep from his navicomputer warned him of incoming star fighters behind him.

“Black Ten, this is Black Twelve,” he called out. “We’ve got four ships incoming at point-two-four-five.”

“I see them, Black Twelve,” came the response as both Ten and Eleven swung around to follow Luke’s lead.

Black Ten, technically the highest ranking of the three, called out, “Twelve, you take center. Eleven, we’ll loop around and come from the sides.”

“Black Twelve acknowledging,” Luke said, already increasing his speed. The rebel ships were coming at them in a leaderless V-formation, two of them at the front, two flying wider apart in the back. He flew directly at the front two ships, swerving to avoid the red beams they launched at him while keeping track of his fellow TIEs. Despite his fast maneuvering, he knew he was about to collide with one of the oncoming Y-wings if someone didn’t change course. He grinned, confident that it wouldn’t be him. Then, a moment later, he was proven right as both dove down along the side of the Death Star.

Quickly, he yanked on the steering column, spinning his own ship to pursue. With the rebel ships now facing away from him, but directly in front of his laser canon, he took aim and fired.

The one closest to the battle station took a hit to one of the wings, causing the ship to spiral outward in space. Not a death sentence, but enough to take that one out of play for the moment. The other ship veered out of the way of his lasers and then dove into a trench in the Death Star, narrowly avoiding a hit by a turbocanon.

“Enemy ship is fleeing into the trenches,” Luke announced, already moving to follow.

“Stay on ‘em, Black Twelve!” Ten sounded distracted, but not worried, so he almost certainly had his end of things under control.

Luke’s grin widened and he spiraled down into the trench himself, quickly catching up to the rebel ship and firing on it. Down here, the rebel didn’t have to worry about dodging the turrets, but they had much less room to maneuver around Luke’s shots. His first shower of blasts went too low as the rebel pulled up and out of the way, but on the next try, he aimed slightly away from the ship and got a hit as the rebel flew right into the shot.

Laughing victoriously, he pulled back up out of the trench and rejoined the rest of his squadron, only to realize that the Y-wing he had chased wasn’t the only one diving into the trenches. In fact, it seemed like all of the rebels were taking turns doing it.

So that was their play.

Not the worst plan, he thought, considering the relative protection the trenches would give them from open battle while they went in to attack the station’s vulnerable point. But not the best plan either. Their ships looked ancient next to the Empire’s latest designs and their number was insignificant compared to the number of TIE fighters that could be launched from the Death Star.

He couldn’t help them outright, not anymore than he had already by giving them the plans, but he needed to do something.

Then, his father’s voice rang out over comms. “The rebels are aiming for the battlestation.”

Oh, stars, he wasn’t the only one who had realized what they were doing. More importantly, he wasn’t the only one who knew that the Death Star had a potential weakness.

“Do not let them hit their target!”

Luke clenched his jaw and considered the possibility of firing at his own people under the guise of poor aim, then gasped as a new presence rang out in the Force. He had felt this presence before, once. It seemed ridiculous to consider, but only for a moment before he realized that this was exactly right. The rebels stood more of a chance than he had thought.

A rebel X-wing swooped into his view, diving gracefully through a spray of laser beams, avoiding them all with ease.

He wondered if his father had forgotten his comm link was open when he heard him muttering, “The Force is strong with this one.”

The Force was strong with her, indeed. Luke hadn’t realized just how strong, but now he was certain that Princess Leia of Alderaan was much stronger in the Force than he could have guessed on any meeting he had had with her before.

If anyone could make what he knew was an impossible shot, it was her.

He needed to stay on her and make sure she made it to her destination, but as soon as he sped after her, he realized he wasn’t the only one. His father, in his prototype TIE-Advanced, was faster than Luke could hope to be and prepared with a deflector shield generator to boot. Even beside all of that, Luke knew he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to fire on his own father. Still, he needed to do something to keep the princess from being shot down. She may be strong in the Force, but no one was as strong as Darth Vader and, he knew, the princess wasn’t nearly the seasoned pilot that he was either.

He didn’t have much time to consider that before a Y-wing had joined to back her up, sweeping in to block Luke’s ability to aim. The rebel then fired on his father, forcing Vader to maneuver around the red beams. Seeing his own opening, Luke took aim and fired just above the Y-wing’s cockpit.

While they were distracted, the princess took the chance to dive into the trench to start her own attack run. The Y-wing fell in with her while Luke and his father shot in behind them. The other rebel weaved back and forth behind the princess, clearly hoping to protect her while she took her shot. Luke aimed and, again, fired just past the ship.

His father didn’t have the same concerns about keeping these particular rebels alive for the moment. He fired on the rebel closer to them and landed a hit on one of the ship’s ion jet engines. The ship dipped briefly, but managed to regain balance without losing flight capabilities. Luke knew, however, that the next shot wouldn’t be a glancing blow.

Just as Luke was considering how he could distract his father, another rebel ship joined the fight, laying down heavy fire power and clipping his right side radiation panel. The hit sent him tumbling to the side, but he managed to pull his ship back under control at the last minute. Now in a controlled arc backward, he fired off a blast up at the new X-wing, then completed the arc and sped back after the other ships. His father had gotten another shot on the pilot guarding the princess and Luke was certain that ship couldn’t take any more hits. Then, before he caught up, his father landed a hit on the leader herself, blasting the astromech in the back.

Heart in his throat, Luke raced to catch up, aiming wide and firing off shots as he flew. Finally he was beside the TIE-Advanced again, dodging carefully out of the way of more shots fired from the third rebel as they followed him.

“Come on, come on,” Luke muttered, diving beneath another beam and wincing as his father fired on the princess again, catching one of her wings. The hit slowed her down, forcing her to jerk to the side to compensate for the force of the hit, but luckily didn’t stop her.

“We have them now,” Vader said, sounding smug and determined. Luke gritted his teeth, feeling certain the princess was no match for Darth Vader even as she finally took her shot.

It truly was an impossible shot.

Or at least the way she did it should have been impossible. The red beams that shot out of the X-wing moved horizontally toward the opening into the reactor module and then suddenly turned ninety degrees downward and into the reactor.

Immediately, all three rebel ships moved to escape, shooting out of the trench and away from the Death Star. Now that they had done it, Luke no longer had to hold back, and he was quick to take aim at the nearest X-wing as he gave chase. But since they had achieved their goal, they also no longer needed to stay nearby and, unlike the TIE fighters, X-wings and Y-wings were equipped with hyperdrives. Before his shots could hit, the rebels were gone.

As soon as they were, the Force began to scream.

Forgetting all protocols about what he could and could not say on an unsecured comm line, he shouted, “Father, pull up!”

A wave of energy hit his ship barely five seconds later, sending him spinning through space with no hope of regaining control any time soon. All of his computer screens blanked out, fried by the force of the Death Star’s destruction, leaving him without any way to tell where he was as he spiraled too fast to gain his bearings.

He closed his eyes. His computers couldn’t help him, but the Force could.

All around him, he could feel the deaths of everyone onboard the Death Star. He didn’t have an exact number of personnel, but the casualties had to be staggering. It filled the Force around him like nothing he had ever experienced. He had been in war zones before, he had experienced death plenty. He’d even killed his fair share. But nothing on this scale.

He reached out further. Somewhere in the distance was Alderaan. It was home to two billion sentients, many of whom would have seen the battle station in the sky above their world. Alderaan had no moon, so the sight of it would have been enough to cause panic. They would have been able to see their deaths coming.

The Death Star and everyone on it was gone, but Luke could feel the lives on the world below like stars in the distance, all still burning bright and untouched.

Feeling much more grounded now, he pulled his senses in and focused on his direct surroundings. His ship was still spinning, but it was difficult to get a sense of it without gravity. Somewhere nearby his father was in a similar situation. He could feel Vader’s cold fury at the indignity of their defeat radiating outward from the black hole that made up his father’s presence in the Force.

“Father,” he murmured out loud, pushing the word outward.

The response was immediate. All of the rage and indignation he’d barely touched a moment ago shifted toward him until his father’s icy cold aura had coiled tightly around him in a protective embrace. There were no words between them then, just the cool sensation of togetherness in the Force as Luke did his best to stay calm in the face of his father’s roiling emotions.

Breathing slowly and evenly, he focused on finding his center. With such a heavy presence around him, it was easier to ignore everything aside from the two of them. Once he was calmer, he opened his eyes and inspected his dashboard again.

The computer systems were frozen and the limited life support in his TIE fighter had cut out. His flight suit would protect him for the moment, but they needed to get a distress signal out to the nearest Imperial ship before they ran out of air. Even if they could get their systems running again, they couldn’t go far in their TIEs or break through the atmosphere to land on Alderaan. Doing his best to ignore the slowly whirling view outside the viewport, he manually cut power to the engines and started a hard reboot on all computer systems on board.

They had survived too much to die of starvation while floating in orbit around the planet he had just helped save. He wouldn’t allow his part in the weapon’s destruction to be the cause of his father’s death. He had done it because it had felt right, but there was nothing more important in the galaxy than family and he only had one family member left.

“We will get out of this,” he promised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Tarkin is actually a favorite villain of mine and getting to write just a little bit of him was way too fun. Has anyone read _Catalyst_ by James Luceno? I highly recommend it at least partially for the absolutely delightful interactions between Krennic and Tarkin. They hate each other _so much_ and you have to love it. Also, and this is entirely unrelated to the above, _Catalyst_ made Lyra Erso a fully fledged character in such a way that her death at the beginning of Rogue One is like 300% more tragic. Really it's a book about how the Empire tears apart even the most normal families. A very good read!


	5. Back to Alderaan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: there is some discussion of excessive force against protestors in this chapter, though it's not shown "on screen".

The only thing Luke wanted, once they had finally been found and brought on board his father’s flagship star destroyer, the _Devastator,_ was a trip to the ‘fresher and then a long sleep. Aside from the brief rest he had been able to get on his trip to the Death Star, Luke hadn’t slept in at least twenty-four hours. Adrenaline had carried him through the battle, but hours spent floating aimlessly through space, waiting for a pick up had left him even more drained. Unfortunately, it seemed he wouldn’t be getting any sleep for at least a few hours more. 

The _Devastator’s_ captain, a man called Piett whom Luke hadn’t met before, greeted them in the hangar with tight lips and wide eyes—and a command from the Emperor to contact him as soon as they were on board. If the captain wondered why Luke was included in that command, he didn’t voice the question aloud. 

Dread settled into his stomach as he and his father marched toward what may very well be their execution. Every step forward had Luke thinking back through every mistake he had made that lead them both here. He had felt compelled to bring about the destruction of the Death Star from the day he learned of its existence, almost as if the Force were simply moving him to its will. His father had felt it, too, even going so far as to argue with the Emperor over the battle station’s construction—but Darth Vader would never have disobeyed the Emperor so thoroughly. 

So, of course Luke had to do it.

He would never know what had inspired the Emperor to push Luke into intelligence work, but it was to the man's own detriment in this case. Whether it was meant to be some sort of joke at Vader’s expense or truly the way His Majesty thought Luke’s talents could be best used, it had clearly backfired on him. Luke had spent the last two years in the field and the three years before that as the youngest cadet at the famously harsh Royal Imperial Academy on Coruscant. He had had to learn how to lie with the best of them and he had certainly learned by now how to hide certain things from the emperor. 

The important thing to keep in mind, where Emperor Palpatine was concerned, was that he needed to cover the truths he wanted to hide with truths the emperor expected to see. 

Of course, it would have been easier to continue hiding what he had done if he had been able to stay away from the Death Star to begin with. He hadn’t intended to be anywhere near it again after his initial evaluation trip, hadn’t even guessed that he would be sent back. A battle station just wasn’t the sort of place where an intelligence officer did their best work. If he hadn’t been near it, the Emperor never would have thought to ask if he had had a part in the weapon’s destruction.

Now, overly fatigued from a day that had gone on far too long, Luke needed to call on everything he had learned about keeping secrets hidden if he wanted to survive this comm call. 

His father’s private command suite was situated two levels below the bridge, which meant a long ride on a turbolift up from the hangar bay. Captain Piett had let them go on their own after Vader waved him off, leaving only father and son standing in silence, watching the numbers climb as they rose through the levels. 

“Father,” Luke started, looking up at the man beside him. As soon as he had spoken, he realized he didn’t know what to say. 

How could he explain himself in a way that would make sense to a man who had raised him to value loyalty above all else? He wasn’t sure that Darth Vader, the face of Imperial might and dedication to the Emperor, could ever understand why Luke had put them both in danger by betraying the Empire the way he had. Even setting aside all of the imperial lives lost. 

He couldn't explain, of course. He couldn’t tell his father why this meeting with the emperor could be so much more dangerous than reporting on a catastrophic failure already would be. 

Even if he didn’t know what had Luke so worried, Vader could still clearly sense his son’s fear. Without a word, he set his hand on Luke’s shoulder and squeezed. Luke hid a wince, not wanting his father to pull away again, even if his shoulder ached from the last time he’d squeezed it. It was the only sort of comfort Vader could give when they both knew he couldn’t protect either of them from the emperor’s wrath. It only lasted a few moments anyway, his father removing his hand and leaving it at his side as soon as the lift had reached its destination. 

As they walked into the private command suite and knelt before the large holoprojector there, Luke filled his mind with thoughts of the report he had submitted on the Death Star months ago. He thought about the battle, remembering the rebels’ talented flying. It wouldn’t do to think about the other report he had made and never sent, nor the shots he had deliberately missed. 

The holoprojector flickered to life as the transmission went through and for a moment, Luke felt like all of the air had been sucked out of the room. The emperor’s presence was like a void, seeming to drain all of the light and color from the area even as the holoprojector lit the room in cool blue light. It was only once the emperor began to speak that Luke was able to catch his breath again. 

“Lord Vader,” the emperor hissed, his voice quiet and cold. Luke focused intently on the floor as the emperor spoke, not even acknowledging Luke’s presence. 

“Do you remember the code you vowed to when you became my apprentice?” 

Luke wondered if it were possible to sink into the floor to avoid hearing more. He didn’t know the details, but by some agreement between his father and the emperor, Luke had never been trained in the ways of the Force beyond the basics he required to fulfill the emperor’s commands. It didn’t seem like a good sign to hear anything about his father’s apprenticeship now. 

“Yes, my master."

“Do you truly?” The emperor's voice was soft, almost a whisper, but it still filled the room. “I’m not so certain. The Sith believe in strength, dear apprentice, something I thought you understood. The Death Star should have been our greatest show of strength yet. Through strength, we gain power. Through power, we gain victory.” 

He paused and the transmission crackled with static. Luke felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. 

“If they defeat you, they are stronger,” he went on. “If you defeat them, you prove you are. This is the way of the Sith. I named you “Vader” after you pledged yourself to the Sith. You proved yourself then…” 

Another pause. This time, the quiet was filled with a sharp pop as one of the bulbs in the ceiling burst. 

“What will you do to prove yourself now?” 

His father didn’t hesitate to respond, “I will hunt down the pilot who dared to sabotage the Empire and bring him to justice.” 

Luke’s mind immediately filled with thoughts of Leia before he could force his attention elsewhere, but it was too late. 

“You have something to say, young Skywalker?” the emperor asked. For the first time since the call started, his voice sounded less like he was on the edge of committing murder and more curious. That didn’t mean Luke was thrilled to now have their master’s attention on him. 

He raised his head to look at the projection above him, not meeting the emperor’s eyes. 

“The pilot, Your Majesty. I believe I know who it was.” He hesitated a moment, but feeling the emperor’s impatience, he continued, “I believe that it was Leia Organa.” 

“The senator?” the emperor mused. “Interesting. What makes you think so?” 

“I… felt her presence in the Force,” Luke admitted. He already knew what the next question would be before it was asked. 

“And why did you recognize her Force signature?” the emperor asked. “I didn’t feel anything from the girl when she was presented to me.”

“I felt her using her power on Alderaan,” he said. “I believe she may be talented at hiding her strength in the Force.”

“Very interesting.” Then, the question he had been dreading: “And why did you not report this earlier?” 

Luke swallowed and focused his thoughts on the report he had submitted on the Alderaanian situation, avoiding thinking about anything else he had done while there. 

“I wasn’t certain it was her I was feeling,” he hedged. “And, as I said in my report, I felt that the situation with Alderaan should be handled delicately. Inquisitors are anything but delicate.” 

The air filled with static again and the projection wavered. 

“And you thought it was your decision?” 

Luke ducked his head, knowing there was no way he could answer that question safely and irritated with himself for the slip that had led him here. 

“No, Your Majesty,” he said quietly, eyes trained on the floor.

There were any number of answers he might have expected to that admission, up to and including simply being shocked with Force lightning. He had more than earned it this time, though he couldn’t say he was fully prepared to experience it again. 

It wasn’t lightning that met his answer, however, and it took him a moment to comprehend what he was hearing. 

The emperor was laughing. 

“You’ve grown much better at duplicity than I would have expected from a Skywalker,” he said, still chuckling. “Perhaps we’ll make a true Sith out of you yet.” 

“Master—,” his father started. 

“Silence, Vader,” the emperor snapped, all humor gone from his voice and his attention swinging back over to the man in question. 

“All these years of planning, all of the power I have given you, and what have you achieved?” he demanded. “Nearly twenty years, we endured the skeleton of the Republic while the Death Star was constructed. Twenty years, my apprentice. No longer do we have the Senate to hold order and, now, because you let a teenage girl get past your defenses, we no longer have the Death Star to force it either. Now, at the moment which should be our greatest triumph, instead we have suffered our greatest defeat.”

The only sound for a moment was his father’s respirator, then he spoke confidently, “I take responsibility for my actions. But I was not alone in my failings. I was clear in my warnings. The weapon was a symbol of arrogance and nothing compared to the powers of the For—”

“Enough!” Another light bulb popped, plunging one corner of the room into total darkness, while the air around them felt like it was charged with energy. 

“You are right about one thing,” the emperor said, voice calmer now but still edged with menace. “You will take responsibility for your failure. But you have proven that you are not nearly as clever as you think you are.” 

He paused, as if considering, and then went on, “It is lucky that Tagge left to rejoin his precious fleet when he did, or there would be no one else who could take command. He has long argued that the rebel threat should be taken more seriously and that the Death Star could not be the sole weapon against them. Clearly, his philosophy must be dominant while the second Death Star is constructed. He is to assume primacy. You will act according to his will.” 

His father didn’t respond, but Luke could feel the anger and indignation radiating off of him. As if that hadn’t been exactly Darth Vader’s argument against the Death Star.

“As for you, young Skywalker.” Luke’s head shot up again in surprise; he hadn’t thought he would be addressed again. Beneath his cowl, the emperor’s lips were just visible, stretched into a wide smile as he commanded, “Find the girl and bring her to me.” 

“Yes, Your Majesty,” he answered, just as the transmission was cut. 

\---

The recent destruction over Alderaan had done little to mar the lovely view of the planet from space. This far away, it looked serene in blue and green, only the occasional cloud system floating over the surface of the planet. 

The only real sign of the battle that had taken place was the debris floating slowly around the planet, already getting pulled into Alderaan’s orbit. Soon enough, someone would have to clean it up, as even now the space around the planet was filling up with star destroyers reassigned from all across the galaxy to make a blockade. It would be dangerous for there to be so much detritus flying through space with that many ships occupying the area. 

Standing next to his father at the view port in his private command suite, Luke had to admit the view was less calming than he might normally find it. 

Darth Vader was a whirlwind of icy cold anger, even as he stood completely still in front of the large transparisteel window. He hadn’t said a word since their transmission with the emperor ended and Luke knew better than to be the first one to speak. For a long time, they simply watched the slow movement of the planet below them, the quiet sound of the respirator filling the air between them. 

Then, his father said suddenly, “Your aim during the battle was abysmal.” 

It wasn’t at all what Luke was expecting to hear and it certainly wasn’t phrased as a question, but he knew what his father was asking. He unclasped his hands from behind his back, bringing them casually down to his sides. He wanted to be clear that he was speaking as Vader’s son—not his subordinate. 

He shrugged. “The rebels are excellent pilots." 

His father made a noise that the vocoder translated as a strange bit of static. Luke was in tune well enough with the older man’s presence in the Force to feel confident in translating that for himself as a scoff. He smiled up at his father for a moment, but didn’t add anything else to his defense. 

“They are nothing compared with your skills as a pilot,” his father declared, raising an open hand as he spoke and then clenching it into a fist to emphasize his point. 

“Good enough to make that shot." Luke kept his voice airy despite the fact that he knew he was treading on thin ice with this line of discussion. He was right to be wary, as he could feel the anger in the room rise to dangerous levels again, the ominous creaking of metal a sure sign that his father’s control was perilously close to slipping. 

“You knew that the princess was Force sensitive,” his father stated. Another non-question, this time tinged with anger and something else. Luke tried not to focus too much on that other feeling beginning to color his father’s aura. 

“I did,” he confirmed simply. 

“You hid that from me." The sense of betrayal Luke had been hoping he wouldn’t have to address was clear in his words. 

“No,” Luke denied, brows pulling together as he turned more fully to face his father. “No, it wasn’t like that at all. It had nothing to do with you.” 

He knew that the words were wrong as soon as they were out of his mouth, but he didn’t know how to phrase it any other way. Not without admitting more than he should. 

“Then why, my son?” The mask tilted downward as Vader turned his face to meet his son’s gaze. “Explain it to me.” 

Luke pursed his lips and looked away. He had to consider his words carefully to avoid saying anything too damning. He had long ago realized that anything his father knew, the emperor would soon learn as well, whether his father intended it or not. 

“I believed I was following the will of the Force,” he said finally. It was true, too, at least from a certain point of view. 

“It was the will of the Force to leave a Force sensitive child in the hands of anarchist terrorists?” 

“She’s the same age as I am, Father." 

“Do not try to change the subject, my son,” Vader snapped. “I thought I had taught you better. You know very well that Force sensitives must be reported to me so that I may send an inquisitor.” 

“Yes, because an inquisitor showing up in the palace on Alderaan would have helped the situation there,” he retorted sarcastically. He held his hands out in front of him, gesturing as he spoke. “I said it in my report—I didn’t think that a show of force, like an inquisitor kidnapping one of the princesses, would do anything but encourage more rebelliousness.” 

“Allowing this girl to go free has only led to further acts of terror!” His father barked, taking a step closer into Luke’s space. Luke automatically stepped back with one foot, heart rate jumping, before he forced himself to stop and stand his ground. 

“The only act of terror on Alderaan was the presence of the Death Star itself,” Luke snapped, keeping his jaw firm as he met his father’s eyes through the ominous red lenses of his mask. 

“It is not your place to decide—” 

“Nothing is my place to decide!” Luke shouted, thrusting a hand out and pointing at his father’s chest in accusation. “You have made sure that I know that. I am allowed to do nothing but follow orders.” 

“And yet you still defy the emperor.” Vader's voice was calmer now. Colder as well, Luke realized. It seemed the temperature in the command suite had suddenly dropped several degrees, the darkness in the Force moving like a fog over everything. 

“No, Father,” Luke denied, taking a full step back and lowering his hand back down. He looked down at his boots for a moment, shiny and black and uniform. A wave of exhaustion hit him again as he realized he hadn’t even been able to change out of his flight suit yet. Sighing, he moved his arms back behind his back, taking some small comfort in the practiced stance that had been conditioned into him during his time at the academy. 

“I will find Leia Organa,” Luke told his father, “and bring her to justice.” 

His father turned back toward the viewport, a clear dismissal in his movement. Luke turned away, feeling a little numb after everything that had happened that day, only to be stopped again when he heard his father speak. 

“Luke,” he said, his deep voice oddly devoid of any emotion despite the roiling darkness still present in the Force. Luke turned back to look at him, but Vader hadn’t moved. 

“Be careful.” 

—

The next morning came far too soon, leaving Luke idly dreaming about taking a day off before having to start the search for Organa. Not that he’d know what to do with time off. He hadn’t ever really had a vacation or even a day off since the academy—even then he hadn’t truly had time to himself.

On a ten-days-on, one-day-off schedule, the academy wasn’t exactly designed for free time, but it was more than that even for Luke. As the youngest student there, with all the pressure he’d felt from the emperor’s watchful eyes, he’d always found himself working extra to keep up with his classmates both academically and physically. Not to mention his lack of any open connections to an important family, unlike nearly everyone else there. His father and the emperor were the reason he had been sent there, but unlike everyone around him, he hadn’t been able to share that information. 

As it turned out, sharing the name of a famous Jedi general hadn’t actually endeared him to his staunchly imperial peers. Specializing in intelligence gathering in the years since hadn’t really made it any easier to make friends, nor made his workload any lighter. 

Maybe it was for the best that he didn’t get days off. He wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he ever did find free time.

Still, even if Luke probably wouldn’t know what to do with a proper vacation, he was tired enough to really wish he were anywhere other than a shuttle headed for Alderaan’s surface. Not least of his reasons was the lessening peace as he descended toward Aldera for the second time in less than a year. What had looked so calm from above, up close was nothing short of chaotic. 

He had been briefed as he left, but it was something else to see the roiling mass of people congregating together in the capital. Protesting or rioting, it didn’t matter. Certainly the occupying forces would treat them all the same. 

He had seen a situation like this before, once. Only his second mission post graduation, he had been sent to Onderon to look into Partisan sympathizers in the local planetary government. He hadn’t been there long before the decision had been made to place the planet under martial law in order to deal with the rebels. 

There had been more bloodshed than Luke had ever witnessed in those first few days. The Partisans had met stormtrooper ground forces with dirty bombs and sneak attacks. The stormtroopers had responded by firing on anyone who got in their way. In the end, the Partisans had been killed or forced to flee, civilian casualties had been astronomical, and imperial control of the planet had been reaffirmed.

Luke hoped that a planet as historically peaceful and educated as Alderaan would not make the same mistakes Onderon had, but he wasn’t sure it would be avoidable if the people wouldn’t settle down. 

As he landed, once again on a palace landing strip, it was easy to see the protestors flooding the streets at ground level, as well as various raised platforms and pathways. Their shouts filled the air, amplified by the mountains around them so that it seemed as if the people were completely surrounding the city. An interesting affect and one that made him wonder if it wasn’t part of the reason Alderaan was so functionally democratic, despite their monarchy. 

It didn’t matter much now, of course. A bit of shouting wasn’t enough to stop imperial troops. They had already supplanted the local government, replacing it with temporary military rule. Soon enough, a governor would be selected to represent the Empire and that would be that. No more would the rebellion thrive right under the emperor’s nose. 

Luke privately thought that this all could have been achieved without the Death Star in the first place, but then no one had bothered to listen when he gave that particular evaluation. 

A small detachment of stormtroopers was waiting for him on the platform when he descended from the shuttle, dressed now in his Intelligence whites, rather than the more subtle grays he had worn during his last trip to Aldera. Now, it didn’t much matter if everyone knew he was a member of Imperial Intelligence. All subtlety on Alderaan had been thoroughly dropped since Tarkin’s ill-advised broadcast. 

With his protective escort of stormtroopers, Luke easily made his way into the palace, despite the unruly crowds just outside. If that didn’t dissolve into a riot before the end of the day, he would be very surprised. 

Once inside, Luke couldn’t help being impressed with how quickly the palace had been transformed into the headquarters for the new occupation. It had only been about one planetary rotation since the Death Star had threatened Alderaan and then been destroyed, but in that time, all Alderaanian flags had been pulled down and replaced with the imperial flag. All of the government workers seemed to have been evacuated and replaced with stormtroopers and military officers. Compared to the seasonal fashions of the Alderaani, all cool colors for spring, the wall of white, black, and gray seemed even more austere than usual. 

The officer in charge of the occupation, one Admiral Natasi Daala, had taken over Queen Breha’s private stateroom as her command center. The room wasn’t one that Luke had been able to gain access to on his last trip, but he was led directly there now. It was clearly part of the older section of the palace with actual stone walls, exposed wooden rafters, and a large, intricately carved fireplace that took up an entire wall. 

Daala had taken the liberty of hanging an imperial flag over the grand mantle, as well as setting up a large holoprojector table in the center of the room. Whatever furniture had been in the room before had been taken away, as the table clearly hadn’t been there before, given it’s inartistic, modern style. 

The room was bustling with activity when Luke entered, Admiral Daala right at the center of it all, confidently giving orders and receiving reports as Luke waited for her attention. He wondered idly how she was handling the news of Tarkin’s demise. If rumors were to be believed, the two had been close. She didn’t look any more or less severe than she had on the few other occasions he had met the admiral, but he had to wonder at the choice of letting her lead the occupation here. Was it simply because she had had the closest ships? Or was she placed here because the emperor knew she would punish Alderaan for the death of her mentor? 

Whatever the case was, she had made it to Alderaan and managed the palace takeover with remarkable speed. If she could manage the blockade and the rest of the planetary occupation as efficiently, he had to imagine there would be a promotion in her future. 

“Intelligence Officer,” Admiral Daala called out to him finally, her voice loud and flat. Luke stepped forward and saluted. 

“Special Agent Luke Skywalker, ma’am."

She nodded sharply. “I’ve been expecting you,” she said. “I’m told you will be taking the lead on finding the Organas.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” Luke affirmed. 

“I won’t be able to spare many men to aid you until the capital is under control,” she warned, “but my men know not to get in your way.” 

“Thank you, ma’am.” Luke nodded, unsurprised by the news. He was used to working with limited resources and, given the number of high ranking officers and stormtroopers that had been killed aboard the Death Star, he knew resources for the whole galaxy might end up being very limited for the time being. 

It was possible, too, that this was another test from the emperor. 

“I’ll begin immediately,” Luke informed her. “I will need access to all of the royal family’s vital records, recent travel logs, and private residences.” 

“You’ll have them." Daala turned to a short, light haired man to her right. “Lieutenant Martz, see to it that Agent Skywalker has everything he needs to start his search.” 

Martz saluted. “Yes, ma’am,” he said, revealing a high Coruscanti accent. 

“Then unless you have anything else you need to discuss,” she said, raising her brows at Luke briefly, “I suggest you get to work.” 

“Yes, ma’am." Luke gave her another salute as he made to leave. “Thank you, ma’am.” 

The admiral had already turned away to address another officer as Luke and the lieutenant left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the conversation between Palpatine and Vader comes from a very similar conversation they had in the 2015 run of the Darth Vader comics. I absolutely adore the comics and would very much recommend giving them a read. It's an excellent insight into Vader's mentality and his feelings on discovering Luke's identity and it's also where we got the introduction of fan-favorite Doctor Aphra.


	6. The Other Twin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, I meant to post this yesterday but here it is!

“This is Captain Ali Shadall,” said Winter Organa, leaning forward in the captain’s chair of the _Gozanti_ -class cruiser she was in the process of freeing. “Starting takeoff sequence now, requesting confirmation of clearance codes from Air Traffic Control.” 

There was a pause that seemed weightier than it should have been, in her opinion. She had gone through the entire process to get here exactly as planned as far as she could remember—and her memory was perfect, so she would certainly remember a misstep. 

Undercover work for the rebellion’s Procurement and Supplies division wasn’t the most glamorous, but Winter took it seriously and she was proud of what she’d achieved. She had spent the last several months working for the Corellian Engineering Corporation as a pilot just to get to this moment. With the clearance she had managed to achieve as Captain Ali Shadall, she should be able to fly this freighter out of Corellian airspace without anyone blinking an eye. By the time anyone realized the ship hadn’t made it to its intended delivery destination, she and the ship would be long gone. 

If everything went according to plan. 

“Captain Shadall, transmit clearance codes again,” came the bored sounding voice from the Air Traffic Control booth. 

“Transmitting.” She took a deep breath before doing just that. Her codes should be good—they were real, after all. 

All of her paperwork had been done carefully to avoid any notice. Even her crew was above board. Since this was merely a delivery flight, meant to get the freighter to its first imperial shipment job on Commenor, the standard crew complement of twelve had been reduced down to three aside from herself. The other three were all real CEC employees, all of whom would be able to vouch for her when the freighter was shockingly stolen by pirates before they could reach their destination. 

Winter sat perfectly still, breathing as evenly as she could even while she felt certain her nerves must be visible from orbit. Then, finally, a response. 

A crackle from the comms and then, “Ah, that’s an all clear, Captain.” Winter sighed in relief as the controller continued, “You are clear for takeoff.” 

“Acknowledged. Beginning takeoff procedures now,” Winter replied, already beginning to key in the coordinates. She turned to her first mate for the trip, a fairly average looking human in the same uniform as her. “Mr. Sath?” 

He nodded at her and began flipping switches on his side of the dashboard.

Winter allowed herself a brief smile and then set to work getting the ship up in the air. While it was perfectly possible to fly this ship with a skeleton crew, and certainly a lot cheaper for the CEC, it did require much more concentration than it would with a full complement. The trip from Corellia to Commenor wasn’t long, but it did require multiple hyperspeed jumps. Traveling within the Core was sometimes much more difficult than traveling out to the outer rim, simply because of the density of stars and planets. All those planets and stars so close together created a veritable minefield of gravity wells, preventing easy hyperspeed travel. 

Later, when she looked back, she might even be thankful that they had already made it nearly to their destination before the broadcast began. 

“Are we ready to make our final jump?” she asked Sath, turning to look at the man.

“Yes, Captain,” he said, then paused. “We have an incoming broadcast, ma’am. Looks official.” 

Winter frowned, nerves jumping again. They had already been cleared for their entire flight. What official broadcast could possibly be coming in now? She had a bad feeling about this. 

“Let it play,” she told him. 

Whatever she had been expecting, it certainly wasn’t the cold, crisp tones of a man she had hated from the moment she first met him as a child. 

“—of the Galactic Empire,” came the voice of Grand Moff Tarkin. Winter grimaced and then glanced at Sath, who was frowning himself, though he looked more confused than anything. He was right to be confused. Why would Tarkin be broadcasting a general message like this? She’d never heard of him doing anything like it. Wasn’t that what COMPNOR was for? 

Whatever his reasoning, Winter couldn’t quite believe her ears as he went on to talk about the Rebel Alliance as terrorists launching some sort of attack from Alderaan. That was ridiculous, she knew. The rebel fleet wouldn’t be anywhere near Alderaan. What was the point of this? 

“To the so-called Rebel Alliance, I have a simple ultimatum,” he continued, his voice booming in the cockpit as Winter and Sath stared at each other. 

“You will surrender now, or we will be forced to demonstrate the true power of the Empire: we will destroy Alderaan.”

“ _What?”_ Winter choked, unable to hide her reaction to that. Sath gasped, his brows pushed together, his chin pulling back in shock. 

“You have one standard hour to lay down your arms.” 

After that, the transmission cut out. 

“That’s not possible,” Sath announced. “The number of ships they’d need to destroy a planet, even Star Destroyers…”

“It might not be quite so simple,” Winter murmured, thinking through the many different ways the Empire could destroy a world. “It could be a bio-weapon or something else…” 

She tapped her fingers against the arms of her chair and wondered out loud, “What can we do?” 

“Do?” Sath demanded, his eyes bulging when she looked at him again. “We can’t do a thing. It’s the _Empire._ And besides—we’ve got a job to do, remember?”

What could she do? How could she stand idly by while her home world was threatened by a monster for all to hear? 

She could switch course and fly the ship to Alderaan, try to provide aid. The freighter had heavy shielding, as well as a laser cannon, and a twin laser turret, all reasons she had been so keen to get her hands on it for the rebel fleet. 

But… with only four crew members on board, they stood no chance in any sort of battle, not even mentioning the probable reluctance of three of those crewmembers. She couldn’t imagine Sath was the only one hesitant to fly into battle against the Empire. Even if she could convince them to go with her, it would take more than an hour to get to Alderaan and, once there, it would be quick work for a Star Destroyer to turn the freighter to dust. 

She couldn’t help Alderaan, not directly. 

“You’re… you’re right,” she admitted, trying to pull herself together even as her limbs felt shaky and weak. 

She couldn’t help Alderaan directly, not now, but she could continue her mission and help the Rebel Alliance acquire a new ship. She would have to have faith that the fleet would already be mobilizing to protect her world. 

She cleared her throat and then said, “Lay in calculations for our final jump.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” Sath replied, his voice quieter now than before, but still professional. She wondered what terrible things he had flown through that had made him able to keep working in the face of what they had just heard. It seemed everyone in the Empire had some sort of story of the Empire’s power in their life. Everyone knew someone who had been disappeared, or had seen a peaceful crowd turn suddenly violent once stormtroopers appeared. 

Or maybe Winter was projecting and Sath was a loyalist who simply trusted that the Empire was doing the right thing. 

She couldn’t know for sure, not in the time she had left with him. She needed to get this ship to the rendezvous point and then she would have to change the game plan. While she had been planning to return to Corellia for more ships and plans, an open attack on Alderaan changed things. 

The final jump seemed to crawl, hyperspace whirling outside the viewport lazily as Winter tried not to consider Tarkin’s ultimatum. She had heard what the Empire did to Geonosis, wiping out the natives entirely, not to mention the dozens of other worlds that had suffered punishment for perceived defiance against the Empire. Most recently Lothal, but she had heard horror stories of how Kashyyyk had been slowly stripped of its natural resources while the Empire kidnapped and enslaved the wookies. 

Would Alderaan just become another in a long list of horrors? 

She couldn’t think about it. She had to focus on the here and now—especially as they began closing in on their destination. This entire plan depended on her staying focused and playing her part perfect. 

They left hyperspace not far from Commenor itself, so it wasn’t long before they had begun their descent down to the planet. Now was the tricky part. Imperial presence here was small, but far from nonexistent. The freighter delivery was to a local imperial base, which would only take as long as they’d need to land, transfer all of the necessary code cylinders, and then get on a shuttle back to Corellia. 

Of course, Winter’s mission was somewhat different from the scheduled plan. 

Landing went as smoothly as taking off had. Winter, Sath, and the two engineering officers they had brought along exited the ship to a perfectly calm air field. Winter couldn’t help but hope that that meant that nothing had happened on Alderaan, but it was hard to say for sure.

 _Focus,_ she reminded herself.

If everything went according to plan, the peace wouldn’t last long. She needed to stay in the moment and worry about Alderaan once she was back with the Alliance. As it was, she nearly jumped when a pair of stormtroopers approached, seemingly out of nowhere. 

“Which one of you is the captain of this vessel?” one of them asked, sounding mostly bored. 

“That would be me,” she answered, stepping off the ramp and stepping up to greet them. “Captain Ali Shadall.” 

“You have your permits?” the same stormtrooper who had spoken before asked. 

“Yes, everything’s right here,” she said, gesturing to the code cylinders in her pocket. She eyed the helmeted figure over. “It was a long flight from the factory.”

Without missing a beat, the stormtrooper replied, “But not as long as the flight from Naboo.” 

Relieved, Winter glanced behind her to where her crewmates were standing, waiting for her. She turned back to them and gestured toward the large hangar building a ways down the airfield. 

“I’ll deal with the details here,” she told them. “You three go ahead and get everything squared away for our shuttle back. We’re on a tight schedule.” 

A round of affirmatives met her, before they took her orders. They were all likely just as eager as she was to get home. As soon as they were out of earshot, the stormtrooper spoke again. 

“This wasn’t the plan,” he told her, irritation evident in his voice. 

“The plan has changed,” she responded sharply. Then, more quietly, “Have you heard anything about Alderaan?” 

“We heard the transmission,” he said, glancing around them and then holding out a hand. “Give me that code cylinder, we don’t want to draw any suspicion just yet.” 

She nodded and handed it over. 

“And now?” she asked. “Is Alderaan okay?” 

Taking her cylinder, he shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “Communications are limited around here. Transmissions in and out of the base are monitored and we couldn’t set up a secure comm with everything going on.” 

“We’ll have to do it from space,” she told him. 

“Are you sure about this?” he asked. 

“I’m certain,” she responded. “We will take the freighter as planned, but I will be going with you. That’s an order.” 

“Yes, your highness.” 

Winter nodded, relieved they weren’t arguing with her, though they very well could. The title she held on her home planet meant little in the larger Rebel Alliance, considering she had no official rank in that hierarchy. Like her sister, for now, she ran undercover operations in less dangerous areas. Their parents didn’t want them anywhere near battlefields, at least not yet. Winter had a feeling they wouldn’t be able to stop the two princesses much longer. 

From there, things went almost shockingly smoothly. Followed by the two “stormtroopers”, who introduced themselves as Kes Dameron and Trace Martez, Winter turned and marched right back up the ramp and into the ship without any interruptions. They didn’t even receive much flak from the air field’s control deck, not when all three had official clearance codes from both the base and the CEC. They’d made it to space by the time they received any word that the base had realized the issue and by then, they were well out of imperial reach. Commenor wasn’t important enough for any significant naval presence, so any ship hoping to intercept them would have to be launched from the surface to give chase. 

“Where are we headed?” Winter asked as Trace began inputting coordinates into the navicomputer. 

“Well, the plan was to make several jumps,” Trace responded, glancing up at her as he typed. “We’ll need to scrub this ship before we can take it anywhere near a base. But… if you need to get back to base urgently…” 

Winter sighed and thought about it. She did need to get back urgently. She needed to know what happened to Alderaan and whether her family was safe. The trip that Trace was proposing could take days, or even weeks. 

But, despite the way her heart was still pounding too hard in her chest, she said, “We stick to the plan. We can’t compromise home base.” 

They certainly couldn’t compromise the base when she didn’t have anything urgent to give, aside from questions. Not to mention, she could very well end up in a lot of trouble for abandoning her assignment like this. One ship wasn’t exactly an impressive outcome for months of undercover work, even if she did also have a fair amount of intel on the Corellian Engineering Corporation that could prove useful to the Alliance. She had to hope that would be enough.

\---

Just as she had thought, it had taken nearly two standard weeks to finally reach the base on Yavin IV. The moon was not along any major hyperlanes, an intentional choice for the rebellion. It slowed travel, but much of their trip was also a slow zigzag toward their final destination to make sure they were not followed. She, Kes, and Trace had spent the first day or so disabling all tracking technology, as well as the shuttle’s two way connection to the imperial holonet. They destroyed all trackers, but kept the disconnected holonet receiver, just in case their slicers could later use it to break into military communications without being tracked back.

From there, they took a meandering path toward the outer rim, stopping only once more to refuel at a station Winter was assured was rebel friendly. She still spent the entire time on edge, unable to relax again until they were back in their stolen freighter and jumping to hyperspace. 

What was worst about all of it was that there was zero information to be had on Alderaan. There wasn’t a peep of it on the holochannel they had playing on the space station, nor any news on any subspace frequencies they were able to pick up from the ship. It was as if Tarkin’s broadcasted threat hadn’t happened at all, but Winter knew from hard experience that no news was often very bad news. She had heard about and even seen too many horrors that were immediately silenced to be comforted by lack of news. If the Empire felt like they had to hide what had happened, they would hide it indeed.

Then, finally, they had made it back to base. She hardly said a word as they landed, not acknowledging the surprise in the rebel controller’s voice when she announced she was on board. If she had been somewhat cold to her co-pilots the last few weeks, she hoped they could forgive her. She didn’t think she would be able to relax even a little until she had confirmation of what had happened to her family. 

It was why, for all that she had been known as long as she could remember for being stoic to the point of coming across as cold, she flung herself off the ramp and across the airfield as soon as she saw her sister approaching their ship. 

“Leia!” she gasped, throwing her arms around her as soon as she was close enough. To her shock, she realized she had tears in her eyes as they simply stood and held each other for a long time. 

“Winter, oh, I’m so glad you’re safe,” Leia told her, leaning back so they could look at each other without pulling away entirely. 

“What happened?” Winter asked, her voice high and breathier than she’d intended. “I heard that awful broadcast, but I couldn’t get any further news. What happened to Alderaan? Are Mama and Papa—?” 

“They’re fine,” Leia rushed to assure her, finally pulling away. She looked over Winter’s shoulder and started to speak again, then waved. Winter looked back and saw Kes and Trace waving them off, which was a relief. Before Winter could say anything else, Leia had grabbed her by the arm, looped their arms together, and started off toward the main building. 

“Alderaan’s okay,” Leia said. “We managed to destroy the weapon before they could use it. We… we lost a lot of pilots. But Alderaan is safe, at least for now.” 

“I don’t understand,” Winter told her. “What was the weapon? Tarkin said they were going to destroy Alderaan. How is that possible?” 

“Oh,” Leia breathed. “Oh, we should go find Mama and Papa. I forgot how long you’ve been out of the loop…” 

“They’re both here?” Winter asked, shocked. Things definitely must have escalated terribly if the queen had left her post. Leia nodded grimly. 

“I think that would be a very good idea,” Winter agreed then. 

It wasn’t hard to find their parents, as it turned out. According to Leia, they’d hardly left the command center since their arrival on base, nearly immediately after the destruction of “the weapon.” She wasn’t surprised to hear that, but she was somewhat surprised to find Obi-Wan there too. She had always known he was more than the tutor he pretended to be in public, but knowing that and seeing him acting like a leader amongst peers was something else entirely. For the first time in her life, she thought she could truly see the general used to be. 

She stayed near the entrance to the command center as her sister walked confidently through the rather crowded space, looking very much like she belonged. Leia, for all that she had a temper and demeanor the likes of which had often been deemed unfitting of a princess growing up, had always been the clear leader of the two of them. Winter was happy to spend long months undercover in order to provide ships and security codes, but Leia had always wanted to be on the front lines. For so long, that had meant taking up every leadership role she could. 

It simply hadn’t been a question who, between the two of them, would take part in the Day of Demand when they turned sixteen. Winter hadn’t even considered that she would be the one to take on the traditional challenges required to officially become the heir to the throne. Leia, meanwhile, had already begun plotting and worrying and preparing for her challenges by the time the sisters had reached their fourteenth year. 

As she watched her sister address Rebel High Command with all the self-assuredness of a queen, Winter couldn’t help but think that, despite what some people seem to think, Leia had always been far more regal than Winter ever could be. 

Winter couldn’t hear what was said, but she could tell as soon as their parents were told that Winter had arrived. Both of them turned from where they had been in discussion with Mon Mothma and a woman Winter didn’t know, then quickly excused themselves. She couldn’t help but smile as they came toward her, both with clear relief on their faces. 

Her father was the first to sweep her into a hug, but her mother followed quickly behind. 

“I’m so relieved,” she murmured, utterly open despite the audience in the room. Her eyes felt a little too wet for public and she couldn't keep the smile off her face. “I’m so glad you’re all safe.” 

She had spent the last weeks so terrified that she was about to hear the worst, it was more than just a relief to have them in her arms. She also realized just how badly she had missed her family in the time she had been away. 

Once they all pulled away, her father ushered her out of the command center with a gentle hand between her shoulder blades. 

“We have much to discuss,” he told her. “And I’m sure you’ll need to debrief with Procurement and Supplies soon.” 

“Yes, Papa." She let the relieved smile fall off of her lips. “But I must know what happened. How are you all here? What was this weapon?” 

The viceroy sighed. “Let us find privacy and we can share what happened.” 

They ended up in her parents’ private quarters, a small room that was likely still more spacious than the barracks she knew would be elsewhere on the base. Then they told her everything: about the planet destroying battlestation, about the imperial spy who had, for some mysterious reason, given them plans—and about Leia personally flying into battle to protect their planet once she and Obi-Wan realized that it would surely take a Force adept to make the shot. 

Winter couldn’t hide her horror. 

“How could they do this?” she demanded, feeling the muscles in her jaw and temples pulled somehow even tighter than they had been on the journey here. She met her sister’s clearly angry gaze and couldn’t help but match it. 

“I thought we had already seen the worst of the Empire’s depravity,” she said quietly, looking down at her hands, which had balled into fists in her lap. She shook her head and looked up again. “But a weapon to destroy an entire planet—I don’t understand. How could they do this?” 

Her mother shook her head. “I am thankful that you do not." She reached across the bed they had unceremoniously sat on for the discussion, placing her hand over one of Winter’s. “I don’t think a good person like you could.”

“There is a little more,” her father added, leaning forward in the chair he had pulled to face the bed. “It is important that you know that all of us are now wanted. The Empire has taken control of Alderaan and begun a blockade of the planet.” 

He paused for a moment, eyes flicking to Leia, and then said, “Leia in particular is being hunted right now. She has a bounty on her head of twenty-five million credits.” 

“ _Twenty-five million?”_ Winter repeated. She wasn’t the most knowledgeable of bounties, but surely that was an outrageous amount for one person. 

Leia pursed her lips. “Somehow, word got out that I was the pilot that took the shot,” she said, her tone chagrined. “The Empire hasn’t taken the destruction of their new toy lightly.” 

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re here then,” Winter said. “As long as the base remains secure, they can’t find you.” 

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she knew it had been the wrong thing to say. Her parents both sighed, while Leia’s expression soured, her eyes going wide while her brows came together. 

“I will not hide away for the rest of the war!” she exclaimed. “Our people need to see that we haven’t abandoned them. The rebellion needs to see that I am not above them because of a title.” 

“Leia,” their mother cut in, already sounding tired, as if this was an argument they’d had before. “Your life is more important than a bit of propaganda.” 

“A bit of propaganda?” Leia repeated. “What have I been training for all these years if not to reach out to the people? And after how many pilots we lost over Alderaan, how can I refuse to use my face and story to get help?” 

“Perhaps,” Papa agreed evenly, ever the diplomat. Then he continued, “But I don’t see why you cannot do that from here. We can record holovids, spread them across the galaxy, without putting your life on the line.” 

“People need to see action from us,” Leia answered without hesitation. “They need to see that we will not be silenced the way the Empire would so dearly like us to be. I won’t be cowed by them, not while our people suffer.” 

“And you think your death will serve to inspire the people to our cause?” Mama snapped, her cheeks red even as her lips were thin and pale. “How will martyring you help our people?” 

“How will my cowardice?” Leia's voice rose with her anger. 

“It is not cowardice to refrain from foolishly throwing yourself into danger!” Breha argued, matching Leia’s rising volume. 

“Breha, Leia,” Papa interrupted quietly. “I think we can continue this conversation when we’re all better rested and fed, no? Winter hasn’t even had the chance to change after her journey.” 

Their mother looked contrite at that, but Leia still looked like she was ready to continue the fight. A raised brow from their father when she opened her mouth to do just that was enough to quiet her down for the moment, but it was clear that this wasn’t the end of the discussion. 

\---

It most certainly wasn’t the end of the discussion, but the following days found the Organas pulled in different directions. 

Her parents seemed to be in non-stop meetings, as well as pulled into makeshift recording studios to film messages to the people of the galaxy. They were hoping to spread the word about what had truly happened and what the Empire would have done if they had not stopped the Death Star. 

When not throwing herself into any assignment High Command gave her, Leia had taken to spending a fair amount of time with Evaan Verlaine, a young woman their mother had been mentoring the last few years. She had also, apparently, flown alongside Leia in what they were now calling the Battle for Alderaan. As far as Winter knew, they had never been close before, but it seemed that after fighting side by side, they had formed a bond. Leia had a talent for just about everything she tried, but Winter had never known her sister to be a frontline fighter. The idea of her flying into a battle was enough to have Winter’s heart beating a little too fast in fear. She couldn’t imagine how their parents felt. 

As for Winter, after being assigned a bed, she had gotten her first full night of sleep since this all started before a basic debrief with one of the intelligence officers on base. After that, she did whatever work she was handed, though nearly all of it administrative in nature. 

It was several days into her stay on Yavin IV when she was summoned for a more thorough debrief with General Draven himself. She found herself sitting in a small room she could not determine the original purpose of, but which had had a desk shoved into it, with an old, modified long-range transceiver sitting atop it. The two of them sat in old chairs in front of the desk, close enough in the small space that their knees were almost touching.

Despite her surprise at having gotten the general’s personal attention, she shared every bit of relevant information she had from her work with the Corellian Engineer Corp as he looked at her speculatively. It could prove very helpful to the rebellion, but it wasn’t exactly top level military intelligence. She couldn’t quite decide why she would have gotten Draven’s notice until his questions turned away from her mission. 

“You and your sister are very close, no?” He asked. “Almost like twins—especially in appearance.”

She narrowed her eyes at him.

“If I may be blunt,” she said after the third off topic question, “I’m not sure I understand what my sister has to do with my mission.” 

Draven’s brows shot up and he took a moment to respond, just studying her. She knew the tactic well enough, knew he wanted to see if she would keep talking instead of waiting for his answer. Well, she could be plenty patient.

Finally he smiled, just slightly, and answered her. 

“Not your last mission,” he said. “But perhaps your next one.” 

Now it was Winter’s turn to raise her brows at him in question and wait for him to go on. His smile widened. 

“Your sister has become more than just an asset to the rebellion overnight,” he told her. “She’s become a symbol. The entire galaxy knows her name, the Empire has made sure of that. She cannot be hidden away at a time like this, when our numbers are so low.” 

Winter frowned. “I would think this would be a discussion you should have with her,” she said carefully.

“Not at all,” he responded. “It is very much you I’d like to speak with, Princess. You’ve been an active member of this rebellion for a couple of years already. You’re smart, driven, and most importantly, you’re willing to do what needs to be done even when it’s not glamorous.” 

Winter wasn’t sure she liked where this was going, but she smoothed her face out into something blank and polite as she leaned back to look at him. 

“Thank you, General,” she said. “I’ve tried my best.” 

He nodded sharply. “And you can do more,” he went on. “There is a way you can protect your sister and help the alliance at the same time. It won’t bring you any glory and it won’t be safe. But you could do a lot of good.” 

“What do you have in mind?” She asked neutrally. 

“Princess Leia needs to be out there,” he said. “But it would be a propaganda nightmare if she was captured. We need to hide her location while letting her be seen. Do you see the issue here?” 

Winter thought about it. Then she thought about his earlier question, his comment on her appearance and her eyes widened. 

“You want me to pretend to be Leia,” she breathed, shocked at the sheer audacity of the suggestion. 

He smiled thinly at her. “With a little hair dye, you would look almost exactly like her,” he said, gesturing to her pale hair. “And if there are sightings of Princess Leia in two places at once, the Empire will have to split their time looking for her. Not to mention the false sightings we have already started to spread around.” 

“My parents will never agree to this,” Winter said immediately. It was one thing when she and Leia had been running minor information gathering and supply missions. This was a whole other level of danger. 

Draven gave her a look. 

“I thought you and your sister had reached the age of majority,” he said, his voice laced with sarcasm. “Surely your parents don’t control your every action.” 

“Let me amend my statement,” she said then. “My queen will never agree to this.” 

She wasn’t even sure why she was even protesting exactly. This didn’t sound like a terrible plan. She did want to protect Leia and she knew, no matter what their parents said, that her sister wouldn’t stay grounded on base for long. She would be willingly putting herself in as much danger as Leia, but then could she really sit idly by while her family was hunted across the galaxy?

Draven took another moment to respond, just watching her thoughtfully. Then, as if he didn’t care at all, he shrugged. 

“Talk it over with your queen then,” he told her easily. “And I’ll talk with your sister about her options.” 

Winter stood, keeping her chin raised and looking down her nose at Draven, where he remained seated. 

“You do that,” she said, turning to leave the room. 

Of course, if she had thought their earlier argument was bad, the one this caused would be explosive. A few days passed as she mulled the idea over, considering how she wanted to present it to her parents. 

They wouldn’t like it, she knew. They wouldn’t want her risking her life quite so flagrantly, not anymore than Leia. But the more she thought about it, the more she could see the merit. Her sister did need to be out among the people. She was a leader on a scale perhaps even greater than their one planet. It was a waste for her to hide when the Alliance’s forces were so depleted after the Battle for Alderaan. 

“You cannot command me to stay in order to coddle me!” Leia was shouting, her voice loud enough that Winter heard it as soon as she entered the hall toward her parents’ quarters. She picked up her pace, ignoring the raised eyebrows of a couple of technicians walking in the opposite direction. 

“We aren’t coddling you, Leia!” Mama argued, her voice not quite as loud as Leia’s, but still loud enough. Winter refrained from wincing as she reached the door and let herself in. The temple where they were housing their base was so ancient that many of the doors lacked even basic technology and this was no different. It was made of wood, though it looked like a new addition to the building, and offered little in the way of soundproofing. 

She closed the simple door behind her with a soft click, trying to ignore how little privacy it afforded.

Everyone turned to look at her, her mother and sister both still red in the face, while her father simply looked exhausted. 

“Please, don’t let me interrupt,” she said by way of greeting, giving them all a tight smile as she moved to sit next to her father. 

“Your safety is more important than this mission,” Papa joined in, his voice as calm as ever, despite the strain she could see etched into his face. 

“How?” Leia demanded, her voice lowered after the interruption, though she sounded no less determined. “We need the Bothans—you know their intelligence network is unmatched.” 

“We can send someone else,” Mama said, thrusting her hands forward almost as if begging her daughter to listen. “Someone who does not have the largest bounty in imperial history over their head.”

“You saw their message,” Leia disagreed. “You know they only want to speak to me.” 

“It could be a trap,” Winter put in. 

Leia looked nearly betrayed as she turned toward her sister. 

“Why?” She questioned incredulously. “They’ve passed us intel before. Why would they turn on us now?” 

“That is exactly my concern,” Papa said. “Why are they making demands now?”

“Because they want to join as fully fledged members of the Alliance,” Leia answered firmly. “They need a show of faith from us and I’m exactly the person to do it.” 

“And if it turns out to be a trap?” Papa asked, looking up at where Leia was still standing. “If we go through with this, they will know your planned location, they will easily be able to pass that information along to anyone willing to buy.” 

“Not if,” Winter started, then paused to collect her thoughts when all eyes turned to her. She took a breath and tried again. “Not if there is also confirmation that Leia is somewhere else at the same time.” 

There was a long pause and then Papa asked, “And how would we do that?” 

Winter swallowed and then lifted her chin to match one of Leia’s defiant poses.

“I would pretend to be Leia elsewhere,” she answered. 

There was no pause this time before her mother cut in, “No, absolutely not.” 

“I’ve already spoken to General Draven about it,” Winter said, not letting her parents say anything else just yet. “I could pretend to be Leia, ensure I’m sighted elsewhere. At the same time, we can spread further rumors of sightings across the galaxy. This way, no one knows what’s true and what’s not, making Leia that much safer.” 

“So instead of having one daughter in unimaginable danger, we will have two?” Papa asked, his voice quiet even as his tone edged on downright angry. He pushed his brows together as he looked at her. It wasn’t often that Winter was willing to put up quite as much of a fight as her sister, but their parents had to know by now that Winter was no less stubborn—just pickier about what she wanted to fight for. 

“Winter,” Leia breathed, looking shocked. She took a step toward them and then finally sat in the empty chair in front of their parents’ bed. “I can’t ask you to risk yourself for me.” 

Winter raised a brow at her. 

“Then it’s a good thing you aren’t asking,” she commented lightly. She reached a hand out and took her sister’s hand in her own. “What you need to do for the Alliance is important. We need you to be the face of the Rebellion and also to stay alive to be that face. I want to help. We can reach more people this way.” 

Leia actually looked a little misty eyed at that, but her jaw was firm and she nodded seriously. 

“No,” Mama interrupted. “No, you cannot do this!” 

Papa sighed, then stood to go to his wife. A hand gently slid down her arm and then twined their fingers together. 

“It seems we have raised exceptional young women." His voice was rueful, a smile just touching his lips as he spoke. “Women who would risk their lives to bring safety and freedom to others.” 

Mama studied him for a long time, her eyes and mouth tense, her cheeks still red from her outrage. She took several calming breaths and then looked at Winter and Leia again. 

“It’s apparent that your father already understands that this isn’t a fight we can win,” she said, sounding defeated. 

“Mama." Leia's voice shook just slightly with emotions. Winter squeezed her hand and met the glance her sister sent her way with a nod of support. “You always told us that we must be the good we wish to see in the galaxy.”

Mama sighed, her mouth ticking up at one corner even. “Perhaps I should have taught you both to be a little more selfish.”

Winter smiled for a moment and then let her face turn serious again. 

“We will not be reckless about this,” she told her parents. “We will work with Draven and be as careful as we can be.” 

“You’ll need to dye your hair,” Leia put in, eyeing Winter’s white hair. Then she looked to her parents and said, “And we will need to work with Draven’s network to coordinate our movements. Winter is right, we must be careful.” 

Their father nodded, already looking thoughtful in that way he did when he was planning something out in his head. 

“We are very proud of you both,” Mama put in, pursing her lips after and turning her face away from them all for a moment. She took another deep breath and then smoothed out her face into the diplomatic non-expression she wore as Queen of Alderaan. 

“We have much to plan and, if Leia is to meet with the Bothans, very little time to do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winter is another Legends character who I miss dearly. She made her first appearance in the novel _Heir to the Empire_ by Timothy Zahn (I'm pretty sure) and I loved her instantly. Leia having grown up with a sister is too good to pass up. Weirdly, the actual Legends "canon" is that Winter was raised in the Organa household, but wasn't a princess.... I'm ignoring that because it does not spark joy.


	7. Lost and Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A secret comes to light

“Sir, we have another sighting of Princess Leia.” 

An ensign stood before him, holding out a datapad for Luke’s inspection with a blank expression on his face. Luke didn’t need to see an expression to know that the man was nervous about passing this along. It had been weeks now since the Organas, and their rebel pilot of a daughter, had fled Alderaan and he had come no closer to finding them. The emperor was not pleased, which meant that no one was pleased, least of all Luke. 

The tension was palpable even among this ship’s crew the longer their search went on without results. No one wanted their names attached to yet another dead end, so each report was delivered by increasingly nervous crewmembers.

Luckily for them, Luke had neither the authority nor, generally, the inclination to simply kill his subordinates when he was unhappy. Right now, he found himself idly wishing he could. Or that he could vent his frustration in any way, really. Unfortunately, unlike his father, he wouldn’t likely be sent any replacements or get away with damaging any of his equipment. Perhaps most importantly, however, he knew that any sign of weakness on his part would most certainly be used against him. 

“Thank you, Ensign,” Luke said simply, taking the datapad and then waving the man off. He skimmed over the information, quickly frustrated at how little there was. 

At first, there had been no news of the princess at all. Luke had spent a week or so in the palace raking through every file of the Organas he could get his hands on, hoping to find some clue as to where they might be hiding. As promised, Admiral Daala had provided the help she could before she was recalled to oversee the blockade from space when a ground general had finally arrived to take over the occupation on the planet. Unfortunately, the royal family was thorough and, likely, had had help getting rid of anything incriminating. 

Then, the sightings had started. Luke had been thrilled to get a response back on one of the security programs he had set up to search for her face on any holorecorders the Empire owned or tapped into. It was a lot of data to sift through, so the program was somewhat slow, but if he could just get a sector for her location, he could start his search in earnest. 

So he had commandeered a small vessel and a detachment of stormtroopers and flown to Stewjon, of all places. The Princess, or someone who had an eighty percent match to her appearance, had been caught on camera in the capital there. 

Only, once he had arrived on the planet, he had received word from a tipster on Ord Mantell that she was there. A few days later and one of the people in his own information network reached out and reported yet another sighting, this time on Sullust. Then, another hit on his program on Bothawui. 

Quickly, he realized what the rebels were playing at. It was irritating that he had fallen for it even briefly, but honestly a minor obstacle. The Empire was so much faster than the rebellion, they couldn’t hope for such a ploy to work. He simply needed more soldiers on the search. This was a top priority manhunt, so he was confident he would have the help he needed. 

Clearly he had been far too optimistic, as the only response he had gotten to his request was a message directly from the emperor asking if he didn’t feel he was up to the task.

So, this was a test and it was one Luke feared he was thoroughly failing. What he couldn’t understand was why the emperor wanted to test him like this. Surely finding the princess was more important than some disagreement between the emperor and Luke’s father? Or perhaps it wasn’t about his father at all and more to do with the emperor’s comment about Luke becoming a Sith.

He wasn’t even terribly clear on what that might entail. His father had always been against letting the emperor train him and that wish had been respected, for the most part. He had been trained in certain skills in the Force that he needed for his work for the Empire, but little else. What it meant to be a Sith or even what the Dark Side actually was? He couldn’t really say. He hadn’t ever been allowed to know too much before. 

What did it mean that this was changing?

It didn’t matter for the moment—or it shouldn’t. Whatever his future held, he knew he would dearly regret failing this mission and he _was failing_. He had no solid leads, not even one sighting he could say was actually confirmed. But how did the emperor expect him to fulfill this mission without even access to more soldiers he could send to confirm sightings? 

Perhaps the better question would be why this mission had fallen to him at all. He had never led a squad before, even if he did hold the rank of an officer, and he wasn’t any sort of bounty hunter. His experience, what there even was of it, was in intelligence and aiding in destabilizing local regimes. 

Unless it wasn’t his experience the emperor was testing. The princess was Force-sensitive like himself, he realized. Could he somehow find her by using the Force? 

He glanced over the report he’d been handed again and then set it down on the desk with a clack. He wouldn’t get anything else out of a paragraph outlining yet another possible sighting, on yet another backwater world with little by way of any real imperial presence. 

The emperor wanted him to prove himself, so prove himself Luke would. He knew how to reach out to the Force to find information he needed inside someone’s head. He even knew how to move small objects telepathically. Surely, if he just concentrated enough, he could find one woman whose force signature he remembered clearly. He sat at his desk and closed his eyes, evening out his breathing as much as he could. 

“The Force is in all things,” he whispered, the words a phrase his father had taught him. “It is mine to command.” 

He thought about the way the Force moved around his father and around the emperor. Around the emperor, it was cold and moved slowly, only striking out at his whims. It always felt as if he had the Force under tight control, like a hound that had been broken down until it was both obedient and vicious. His father, on the other hand, always seemed like he was in the eye of a storm, the Force whirling around him wherever he went. But for Luke, it felt more like an ocean. Sometimes it was calm and easy, but it was never safe and never under his control. 

“The Force is mine to command,” he repeated, even as something in him told him that these words were wrong. 

The Force had never been under his charge. If anything, he sometimes felt like it was the other way around. He could touch that power and even use it the ways he had been taught, but it felt more like it was flowing through him than being weld by him like a simple weapon. And then there were the few times, like with the Death Star, when he felt so compelled by something outside of him to act that he knew he wasn’t a master over the Force at all. 

Now, again, felt like that. The Force was all around him, but it was not with him. Perhaps it was with Leia Organa, he thought disdainfully, and that was why he could not find her. 

“How am I supposed to prove I’m worthy of training if I can’t even do this?” he asked out loud.

Once more, something in the air around him told him this was the wrong thing to say. He took a deep breath. He needed to find Organa, but he couldn’t find any of the control he needed. The Force had led him to help with the destruction of the Death Star, so why couldn’t it now help him fix the consequences of that? He couldn’t regret what had happened to the battle station, but he hadn’t realized his father would be on board or that he would get the blame for what happened. He was the only family Luke had and he had nearly gotten him killed. He had gotten him stripped of his rank and forced to work under that pompous fool Tagge. 

He needed to fix things. 

“Show me Leia Organa,” he ordered, picturing her in his mind and reaching out into that vast ocean of energy. He had spent his entire time on Alderaan familiarizing himself with everything about her, including her signature in the force, but he couldn’t sense anything like her now. 

He took a deep breath and held it for a single count. When he let it go, he let the Force wash over him like a wave, not even trying to control it. 

“Where is Leia Organa?” he asked softly. There was no vision or sudden booming voice, but there was a twinge of memory. He felt his brows pinch together as he thought. It was a tune, he realized, but he couldn’t place it or understand why it had come to him now. He sat and meditated on it for a while longer before giving up. He had other duties on board and all he had managed to do was get the melody stuck in his head. 

He found himself humming it under his breath later while standing on the command deck, looking at possible flight plans with the captain. 

“You are a fan of the classics?” Captain Ratlieg asked him, his brows raised in surprise. 

Luke frowned. “I’m sorry?” 

Ratlieg was older than Luke by at least fifteen years and seemed rather surprisingly content to have command over a relatively small vessel. Most officers Luke found himself working with were ambitious to a fault, but Ratlieg didn’t even seem all that bothered by a very young intelligence agent having run of his ship.

“The song you were humming,” Ratlieg answered easily. 

Luke felt his brows shoot up.

“You recognize it?” he asked, feeling a ripple in the Force that seemed to be telling him to pay close attention. 

“It is Mirrorbright, is it not?” Ratlieg began to hum the same song that had been stuck in Luke’s head all afternoon. 

“Yes!” Luke said, feeling a small ounce of triumph after days of frustration. “I couldn’t place where it was from.” 

Ratlieg smiled. “It is a classic from my ex-wife’s home world of Alderaan,” he said. Luke felt his breath catch in his throat at that, but the captain didn’t seem to notice anything amiss. 

“It’s a lullaby, really, but the Royal Orchestra of Alderaan does a wonderful rendition of it every year during the Solstice Festival in Aldera,” he went on. “It’s been years since I’ve visited, but it is quite moving when performed live.” 

Luke grinned. “Captain, you may get the chance much sooner than expected,” Luke said. “We need to plot a course for Alderaan immediately.” 

The man’s brows shot up and then he frowned. “For Alderaan?” He asked dubiously. “You think the fugitive pilot is hiding right under our noses?” 

Luke shook his head. “I think there are answers there that I have been looking for.” 

—

At the very start of his search, Luke had spent a full day going through Princess Leia’s bedroom, rooting out every secret item she might have had in her quarters, all in an attempt to understand her enough to make a guess at where she could have run to. He had found a number of questionable holofilms that seemed a little too favorable to the old Republic, an outright contraband recording of the insurgent cell on Lothal calling for an uprising against the Empire, and even a few antique books he had sent to be thoroughly checked for censored information. 

Everything else had been terribly mundane and not anything Luke had spent much time thinking about. Some paintings on the walls, some holographic images of the royal family, and a chest filled with various baubles that were likely kept for sentimental reasons. Certainly, they didn’t seem to hold any monetary value, for all that they were protected by such an ornate chest. There was a doll, a lock of dark brown hair, a blanket, and a music box. The music box had only held any more interest to him than the other things because of the possibility that there was something inside it, so he had opened it up to inspect it. Inside was a small mirror and a miniature figurine that spun to the music that began to play as soon as it was opened. 

There was nothing else hidden inside it, it had seemed, so Luke had set that aside and moved on. 

Now, as he forced himself to stay at a brisk walk through the halls of the palace in Aldera, he wanted to hit himself. Clearly there was something more to the music box if it was the answer to his search. Perhaps there was a hidden compartment he had overlooked or a code in the song he hadn’t noticed. 

When he reached the princess’s rooms, they looked very little like they had the last time he had seen them. By now, most of the items in the room had been categorized and placed in labeled containers, while the furniture had been pushed to the sides of the rooms to make space for the containers. Luke quickly read the labels on the containers, irritated at this final obstacle, until he found the one he wanted near one of the large windows in the bedroom. His code cylinder worked just fine to open the container and then he was pulling out the box he had come looking for. 

It was just as he remembered it. A small, round box with delicate, gold and silver filigree in swirls and flowers around the outside. On the side, along the seam, was a small release button that opened the lid, revealing the dancing figurine. On this second look, Luke realized that the figurine didn’t look Alderaanian at all. It was shaped like a woman with an elaborate headdress, unlike the braids or simple hoods that Alderaani women favored. Her robes looked bulkier and darker as well, the style one that Luke was intimately familiar with. 

His father had made sure that Luke’s early education focused on Nabooian culture and history, even sending him to school in Theed for a few years. It was the home world of the emperor and, more importantly, his mother. So he recognized a Nabooian queen when he saw one, or at least he did now that he was looking more closely. How had he not noticed this before?

If Leia had ties to Naboo, she could be hiding there. Naboo had a heavy imperial presence, but no blockade and no reason to suspect she had gone there. It might not be the worst place for a fugitive to hide. 

Luke stared at the twirling figure, mulling the idea over, until the song looped to the beginning again. Then he considered the box again. He couldn’t leave it at that, this time. If there was more to be learned from this music box, he would learn it. After a moment of hesitation, he carefully plucked the little queen figurine out of the box and studied the dark circle of velvet-covered plastic on the bottom of the box. Not wanting to damage it, Luke first took off his gloves, then used a fingernail to pull up the side of the plastic circle to reveal the mechanisms beneath.

“What?” he breathed, looking down at what should have been a fairly simple mechanical instrument, but was instead a very small holoprojector. He pulled that out, ignoring the musical disk that was tucked beneath it, and watched as it lit up in the palm of his hand. 

It was Bail Organa, small and blue, standing with all of the regal grace Luke had come to associate with the man. He had his hands clasped in front of him, but they moved as soon as the recording started, reaching out with his palms up as he started to speak. 

“My dearest daughter, Leia,” he said, smiling softly. “I am making this recording in case the worst has happened to your mother and I before we can tell you the truth of your heritage ourselves.” 

His smile faded and he lowered his hands to the side. 

“Your mother and I have done our very best to shield you and your sister from the fight we have embarked upon against the so-called Empire.” He spat the word empire like he needed to get the taste of it out of his mouth. “As I record this, you are both too young to understand the galaxy you have been brought into and we can only be regretful that you will have to live with the consequences of our generation’s inaction. We failed to stop the rise of fascism in the Republic and now the entire galaxy must suffer our mistakes.” 

Luke rolled his eyes, but kept watching, fascinated by what message could be so important that he would actually record such seditious words.

In the recording, Organa sighed. “But this will be no secret to you. I hope, too, that it will be no secret that we will always do our utmost to protect you and that this is why we have had to keep so many terrible secrets from you and your sister.

“I hope that I will be able to give you this message in person.” Organa’s voice wobbled, just barely, and he took a deep breath before continuing. “I hope that when you hear what I am about to say, you will be with your mother and myself, confident in our unconditional love and support. But I know that that may not be the case, that we very well might not survive this secret war we have engaged in.” 

“Your biological mother was a dear friend of mine,” he went on, voice quiet enough that Luke found himself turning up the volume, eager to hear what the prince was about to say. 

A secret family could be the key to finding the princess, he thought, excitement building inside him. 

“She served in the senate with me and was a great defender of justice and democracy. She would have been so proud of the young woman you are already growing into. Like you, she was passionate in everything she did. And although I didn’t know the full extent of it until far too late, I came to understand that that included her relationship with your biological father.” 

Organa’s voice turned grim. “I cannot say that I was ever close with him. But I have seen what became of him and I know that he is no longer the man that your mother loved.”

There was a long pause, as if he was carefully considering his words, and then the holographic man continued, “I know that it will be difficult for you to hear what I am about to say, but it is important for you to know the truth, just as it is important for you to know that none of the actions of your parents have to define you. What I am about to tell you is nothing that changes the intelligent, compassionate young lady I have watched grow up so far.” 

Luke’s breath caught in his throat, the sound of his pulse seeming too loud in his ears, so loud that he could barely hear what the man had to say next, but it didn’t matter. Luke already knew what Organa was going to say. 

“Your mother’s name was Padme Amidala,” Bail said, the words like a siren breaking through the sound of blood rushing in Luke’s ears. “And your father’s name was Anakin Skywalker. But that is not the name he uses anymore.”

Luke dropped the projector, watching it hit the tiled floor with a clatter, but even with the blue light shining onto the floor in indistinct shapes, the sound went on. 

“In the chaotic days after the chancellor had declared himself emperor,” he said, oblivious to the shock Luke was experiencing. Luke picked the holoprojector back up as the recording went on, “so many things happened at once. Anakin fell to the Dark Side of the Force and began to call himself Darth Vader.”

A beat, and then Organa began speaking faster, as if hoping to be done with this story as quickly as possible, “He hurt Padme, which may have been nearly as terrible a shock as what he did in the Temple. And he fought with Obi-Wan Kenobi, the man who had raised him, and another friend of mine. Obi-Wan injured him grievously, but he survived the fight, though we only learned of his survival later. Obi-Wan rushed Padme to a medical station for her injuries and because she had gone into labor.” 

Luke gasped for breath, realizing he hadn’t taken a breath for at least a minute. 

“On that terrible day, on a medical station in the outer reaches of the galaxy, my good friend, Padme, gave birth to twins,” Bail said. “A girl and a boy. We knew we had to protect you any way possible. You were both so small and born under such dire circumstances, but already full of so much life and hope. It was decided that we would separate you two in order to keep you safe and to hide you from the emperor, who we knew would be drawn to the power you were likely to inherit from Anakin.” 

Luke gritted his teeth, the beginnings of a storm rising in him as the recording continued, “Despite our best efforts, the Empire found your brother and took him away. I do not know what has become of him, but I can only dream of a day when you and your brother may be reunited safely.”

Nearly ready to throw the holoprojector away from himself, Luke was relieved when it seemed like the message was finally wrapping up. 

“Remember, Leia,” Bail said, the smile finally returning to his lips. “Your mother and I have loved you as surely as if you were our own blood. We chose you and your sister and have only ever wanted the best life for the both of you. I only hope that you can forgive us these secrets and understand that we will always be with you.” 

The message ended there, leaving only the sound of Luke’s heavy breathing in the room. 

He had a sister, a twin. There was another Skywalker in the galaxy and she had been _stolen_ from them. 

The Force around him felt like waves crashing against a rocky shore, but he didn’t care. Vaguely, he could hear the rattling of various objects around the room, swept up into the wave of feeling around him, but what did it matter? He and his father had thought that they were the only family they had in the entire galaxy, but now there was another. If he had just learned this a few weeks ago, he could have restored his sister to her rightful place in their family then and there. 

How the Organas must have laughed at his ignorance, he thought, snarling at the room around him and clenching his fists tight. The holoprojector, still in his right hand, dug into the skin of his palm, but he paid it no mind. 

He had to find her. The Force had led him to this information for a reason and now he understood why. He had to find her and bring her home to her real family. 

But first, he had to call his father.

Pocketing the holoprojector, Luke carefully put the music box back together and replaced it in the crate he had found it in. Then he left the princess’s—his sister’s—bedroom behind, locking all of the doors as he went and leaving everything just as he’d found it. There would be a record of his entry, of course, but he didn’t think it was wise to let anyone know just what he had found. This was a private family matter, after all. 

In the time since he had last left the planet, the command room had remained in the same place, though Admiral Daala was no longer leading the ground forces here. It made sense, considering she was a naval officer and not an army general, but Luke wasn’t familiar with the man who had taken over. All he knew was that General Veers had been newly promoted to the position after the destruction of the Death Star and then immediately sent to finish the occupation that Daala had started. 

It didn’t matter too much to Luke. He didn’t need permission from the general to be here or to make his call. So long as Veers wasn’t too much of a micromanager, Luke should have no trouble requisitioning a communications officer and a private room from which to send his message. 

The command center looked much the way it had the last time Luke was here, if perhaps less frantic. A few weeks time to strengthen the occupation seemed to have calmed things down somewhat, but it was still busy enough for Luke to slip in without needing to formally announce himself. As it turned out, he needn’t have worried about dealing with General Veers at all, as the man wasn’t in the room. A high colonel was in command instead and she didn’t pay Luke any mind as he made a beeline for the set of monitors someone had shoved into the far corner of the room—and the officers standing in front of them. 

Luke picked the one who looked least busy and cleared his throat behind her. She looked older than him, with dark hair that was tied back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck, neatly tucked into the high collar of her uniform. At the sound of his voice, or perhaps the sight of him, she straightened up and pulled off the large headphones she had been wearing. Her dark eyes flicked over him, noting the rank insignia on his chest, and then nodded at him politely. He returned the favor, realizing they were the same rank and he wouldn’t be able to give her orders. 

“I’m Special Agent Skywalker,” he introduced himself. 

“Lieutenant Ives,” she responded, raising her brows at him expectantly. 

“I need someone here to help me set up a direct comm line to Lord Vader,” he said. Her brows shot up even higher, eyes widening at that. “And a private room for that call.” 

She eyed him over again, this time with more interest. It certainly wasn’t every day that the average officer was asked to have anything to do with the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Military and she was likely wondering what about him made him think he had the right to do so. She didn’t ask, however, and Luke didn’t offer up any explanation. Whatever she thought about it, she simply gave him a sharp nod and stood away from the monitor she had been working at. 

“Let’s go,” she said. “There’s a setup ready for intergalactic comm calls in the next office over.” 

Luke followed her out of the room and down the hall to a smaller room that he had to imagine had been the private office of someone on Queen Breha’s staff, though he didn’t know exactly whose. Whosever it had been, all personal effects had been removed while heavy blackout curtains were hung over the large windows on the far side, leaving the room dark enough for easy hologram viewing. A large comm setup had also been clearly added to the room, the dark gray casing nothing like the silver and white that Alderaanians tended to put all of their technology in. 

It took a few moments for Ives to set up the call, then another minute in which she spoke to someone who must work for Vader, before she ended the transmission and turned back to Luke with a slight grimace on her face. 

“Lord Vader isn’t able to speak at the moment,” she told him. “You’ll either have to wait or leave a recorded message.” 

Luke huffed in irritation. On one hand, this was a very private matter that he did not want anyone else to know about. On the other hand, his father may get the message much sooner if Luke sent a recording, rather than waiting for the next time he could step away from whatever mission he was on to make a secure comm call. 

“I’ll need you to encrypt the message,” he said. “Set it to code Aurek-Thesh-oh-nine-one.” 

Ives went to work setting that up while Luke watched to make sure everything looked right. It wasn’t a difficult process and once she had finished, she excused herself to get back to her station. Luke then added in a few lines of code for extra security, closed and locked the door to the room, and started the call. 

“Father,” he said, dipping his head into the cam respectfully, hands down at his sides casually. “I hoped to reach you directly, but I felt it was more important to get this message to you as quickly as possible. I have discovered a vital piece of information that must change the way we are handling the search for Leia Organa.” 

He paused, considering how to word it, then decided that blunt was the only way to say it. 

“I have reason to believe that Leia is my twin sister,” he said, holding a hand out as he spoke, “hidden by the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi at the same time he tried to hide me. I found a recording—the Force led me to it.” 

He took a breath and leaned in, trying to make his voice firm. “You taught me that family is more important than anything else in this galaxy. If she is truly family, and I believe that she is, we must find her and protect her. ” 

There wasn’t anything else he could say on a transmission like this, but there were so many more things he wanted to say. He had questions he wanted to ask about the things Bail Organa had mentioned and alluded to, like what had happened with his mother or in the Temple. But he would need to wait until they met again in person before they could have the discussion he really wanted to have. 

So he said the only thing he could—“Be safe, Father”—and ended the transmission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recently read the book _Star Wars: Allegiance_ by Timothy Zahn (boy, do I love Zahn's books), wherein you get some insight into Mara Jade's time as the Emperor's Hand. It's a really interesting peek into her relationship to the emperor and to the Force. She works directly for Palpatine, was practically raised by him, but doesn't see Vader as a rival and doesn't use the Dark Side. Admittedly, I wrote this whole story before reading that book, but I was pretty pleased to see a lot of similarities to my thoughts on how Palpatine treats potential proteges, like Luke in this verse, while he already has a Sith apprentice.


	8. The Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone had a very nice holiday :) Happy 2021, y'all!

Luke wasn’t expecting a fast response from his father and he certainly wasn’t expecting to receive a summons for a holocall with the emperor, but it was barely a day later when he got both. 

Luke spent the night in a wing of the Alderaanian palace that had been reappropriated for officers’ quarters before acquisitioning a desk near the command center the next day. He was on his fifth cup of caf in as many hours and he had begun to feel a little too jumpy, but he needed to concentrate. He was reading through a slightly more promising sighting of the princess—his sister—when an ensign approached. 

A sharp salute was all the greeting he got before the nervous looking officer said, “Special Agent Skywalker, sir, you’re requested in the private comm suite immediately.” 

Luke looked up at the young woman standing over him in irritation, about to make a sharp comment about formality when she rushed to continue, “It’s the emperor, sir.” 

All thoughts of reprimands flew out of his mind and Luke set his mug down forcefully, ignoring the caf that sloshed over the sides. Quickly, he shut off the datapad he had been reading from and stood. 

“Lead the way, Ensign,” he ordered. The ensign saluted again, then pivoted on her heel in a smart turn, the first sign of professionalism Luke had witnessed from the tense woman. She was probably about the same age as Luke, which meant she was likely a recent graduate. 

But it wasn’t Luke’s responsibility to teach her how to address superiors and, more importantly, he had a call with the emperor and no idea what it was about. 

The emperor had always taken an interest in Luke, but he hadn’t been so directly involved in Luke’s work since he graduated from the Academy. Even during his time at the Imperial Academy on Coruscant, the emperor was only ever interested in discussing personal matters with him. Luke had assumed that he was waiting for him to graduate and become more useful, but then Luke had spent his first year of service after school without any contact from the emperor. 

It could be a good thing, of course. A sign that His Majesty saw that Luke was fully grown and now worthy of being trusted with more important work for the Empire. 

Something told him that that wasn’t the case, however. Whatever had changed, it didn’t feel like a good thing to be getting another call from the emperor so soon after the last. With every step forward, it felt as if the temperature were dropping, leaving him shivering by the time they arrived.

The ensign, whose name Luke realized he hadn’t asked, led him back to the same room he had used the day before to call his father. As could only be expected for a holocall of such importance, the room was already set up. Luke rushed inside and made sure that the door was firmly shut behind him, then knelt before the holoprojector. A few minutes passed as he waited in the darkened room, only his thoughts and the sound of his own breathing to occupy him as dread crept down his spine. The Force was screaming danger at him, but he knew he couldn’t move from this spot. 

Then the room lit up and the figure of his father in the same pose filled the space beside him, the emperor larger than life above them both. 

“Master,” his father said formally, “what is thy bidding?” 

The emperor ignored the question, instead asking one of his own, “What have you to say to me?” 

A pause. “Master?” 

The emperor made a sound like he had clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and snapped, “Not you.” 

Luke’s head jerked up reflexively, his eyes widening at the slowly spreading smile on the emperor’s lips. 

“No, it is young Luke who has news.” His smile was sharp, the barest hint of teeth showing behind his lips. “And a very good explanation, I am sure, for why he did not bring it to me directly as soon as he learned of it.” 

His father shifted, helmet turning slightly toward his son, but Luke couldn’t say for sure what he was thinking. Had he even gotten Luke’s message? 

“Your Majesty,” Luke said, then stopped, considering his options. 

He could assume that the emperor had gotten the message he had intended for his father’s eyes only, despite the measures Luke had taken to ensure its security. Or it could be something else and this merely a trap to get Luke to reveal more than his majesty already knew. If he feigned ignorance of what the emperor was asking, he could potentially get a better understanding of what the man already knew.

“Well?” The emperor asked impatiently. “Tell me and your father what you discovered, boy.” 

Luke swallowed. No question, then, what he needed to say. 

“I found a recording from Bail Organa,” he hedged, eyes flicking up to the emperor’s face in hope that he could gauge the man’s reaction. There was nothing. “To Leia Organa. Explaining that…” 

He paused, looking over to his father, to whom he had wanted this message to go first. This was a family matter, he thought. No matter how much the emperor had treated him as a favorite grandchild growing up, this should just be him and his father discussing it. He cleared his throat and tried to push the indignation down. He could consider the injustice of this later. 

“It explained that Leia is my twin sister.” He watched as his father’s head jerked at that, turning more fully toward him. “And the daughter of Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker.”

“How is that possible?” His father demanded. 

Luke shook his head. “I do not know,” he answered slowly. “Organa said… he mentioned Obi-Wan Kenobi.” 

Even light years away, Luke could feel the storm that was his father’s anger stirring to life at that name. The emperor sneered, that terrible smile twisting to the side. It was the only part of his face completely without shadow from his cowl, but it was more than enough. 

“And your explanation for why you attempted to withhold this information from me?” 

Luke didn’t have an answer to that question and he was sure the emperor knew it. There was nothing Luke could say that would get him out of the hole he had dug himself into. 

The mocking smile faded from the emperor’s face. “I’m certain there must be a reason for what seems to otherwise be an incredible lapse in judgment.”

Luke’s mouth felt dry, his tongue too heavy in his mouth, but he forced himself to speak. 

“If Leia is truly a Skywalker, then we must bring her into the fold where she belongs,” he rushed to say, wincing at his own commanding tone. He ducked his head and added quickly, “Your Majesty.” 

The emperor didn’t respond for a moment and Luke knew he had made a misstep. 

“I allowed your father a great deal of freedom to raise you the way he wished,” the emperor said, “on the condition that you would understand your place in this great Empire we have worked so hard to build. And yet, all I see from you is lie after lie. Is this how you repay me for all of the leeway I gave you? All of the opportunities afforded to you?” 

Luke swallowed, unsure how to respond to that, but tried, “I am sorry, Your Majesty.”

“I don’t think you are,” the emperor snapped. “But you will be, I assure you.” 

A spike of fear shot through him at that, but he kept his mouth shut, realizing that there was nothing he could say that wouldn’t make things worse at this point. 

“The rebel princess has already grown too powerful,” the emperor said then. “She could destroy us.” 

His father finally spoke up then. “She’s just a girl,” he said. 

“She is already a Jedi,” the emperor responded. “It seems we have your old master to thank for that.” 

What? Luke’s eyes widened. No one had ever told him Obi-Wan Kenobi was his father’s old master—but it made sense, he realized. Organa had said in the recording that Kenobi raised him and that was the way of the Jedi, stealing children from their parents and indoctrinating them from birth. 

“If she could be turned,” his father said, not quite arguing, “she could be a powerful ally. Together with her brother, they would be an unstoppable force for the Empire.” 

Luke shivered, the image of Leia fighting at his side coming so vividly to his mind, it felt like a memory. She was ruthless with a lightsaber in her hand to match his own, laughing as they cut through enemies together. Luke, who had never once fought with a lightsaber, blinked away the image, though he could practically feel the hilt in his hand still. 

“She is too great a threat if she remains our enemy.” 

“She will join us or die, Master,” his father responded. Luke choked, then froze, holding his breath. 

“See that is so, apprentice,” the emperor answered shortly. With that, he turned his attention back on Luke. “And you, young Skywalker. It is clearly past time that you began to learn from me directly. Come back to Imperial Center at once.” 

Then, without another word, he disconnected from the call. 

Luke remained frozen, though he sensed that his father was still there, waiting for him to gather his thoughts. 

“Father.” Luke looked up again as his father rose from his kneeling position to tower over him.

“Father,” he repeated, eyes wide as he looked into the holographic mask. Not for the first time, he cursed the fact that he could not see the man’s eyes nor, from such a distance, get a very good read on his emotions. He stood up on shaky legs, eyes wide as he pleaded, “We cannot let Leia die. She’s family.” 

“Luke, enough!” His father barked, jabbing a finger in his direction. “We will do what we must for the Empire.” 

“But—” Luke tried. 

His father’s hand slashed to the side, as if batting Luke’s words away, “Silence. That is enough insolence from you.” 

Luke’s jaw felt tense and he could barely restrain himself from clenching his hands into fists at his sides, but he forced himself to lower his head in submission. 

“I’m sorry, Father. I simply do not understand—” 

“You do not need to understand,” his father interrupted loudly. “You need only to obey. Am I understood?” 

Luke gritted his teeth and took a deep breath through his nose. Then he bowed low, lower even than he did when they were in public together and could not admit their relationship.

“Yes, Lord Vader.” 

When he rose back to a full, upright position, his back was straight and his chin raised. His father didn’t say anything for a long moment, only studying him as if his son was something he couldn’t quite understand. 

“Be careful, my son,” his father said at last, his voice quieter than it had been. Before Luke could decide how to respond to that, the transmission ended, leaving Luke once again alone in the dark room. 

\---

The palace was too busy for Luke to be able to stay in the comm room for long, no matter how much he wanted to be left alone with his thoughts. Moreover, the emperor would be expecting him to leave immediately. There were preparations that should be made, but he needed to plan his next moves carefully.

Forcing himself to unclench his jaw, Luke took a moment to simply breath and consider his next steps. If he left the search to his father, Leia would likely die. He may not have grown up with her, but he knew enough about her to see that she would not be forced to abandon her cause. If Luke were just given the chance to reason with her, perhaps she could be persuaded, but he was certain she could not be forced. 

He brushed past all of the officers he passed in the hallway, walking as purposefully as he could without drawing undue attention to himself. He tried not to stiffen as a pair of stormtroopers marched toward him, nor sigh too visibly when they passed him by. 

He couldn’t go back to Imperial Center, not yet. But to disobey a direct order from the emperor so openly was just asking for a swift execution—even if Luke was certain that the emperor was being shortsighted. Leia truly could be a valuable asset to the Empire, but only if she were approached just right. And wasn’t this sort of subtlety exactly what the emperor had wanted him trained for? He had Darth Vader for all of the high profile missions and Luke for things that required a softer touch. 

Then Luke considered the Death Star, a wave of revulsion washing over him at the thought. Perhaps he had misunderstood His Majesty’s purpose for encouraging Luke toward intelligence work. It certainly didn’t seem like their great emperor put much stock into subtlety these days. 

There was a possibility that Luke could bring the emperor around if he could just talk to Leia, convince her of the futility of her fight, and bring her back to Coruscant with him. It was an unfortunate possibility that he would be executed for treason if he were caught, but Luke could admit to himself that it wasn’t truly the Empire he was concerned about. He had a sister out there, one he had never known about, and now her life was on the line. He had put her life on the line, first when he gave her those battlestation plans, then when he identified her as the pilot who made that fateful shot. 

Luke wouldn’t forget the first lesson his father had ever drilled into him, even if his father had apparently forgotten it himself. His loyalty was to his family first and foremost. He would not let the emperor kill his sister and he especially would not let the emperor push his father to do it. If that meant leaving behind everything he had worked for and turning his back on the Empire, then so be it. 

Decision made, Luke took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then let it go. 

He needed to get off Alderaan and past the blockade without an imperial ship. He briefly considered simply hijacking Ratlieg’s ship, but he didn’t think he could man a ship that large on his own and it would be too easily tracked anyway. So he needed to find another ship, which meant he needed to lose his uniform and go out in the city without attracting any more attention to himself. But first, he pulled out his short distance comm and dialed Ratlieg’s frequency. 

“Captain,” he greeted shortly. “We need to make for Imperial Center as quickly as possible. How long before the ship can be ready?” 

If Ratlieg were surprised by the sudden change in orders, he didn’t show it. 

“A standard hour should do it, Agent,” he replied casually. Luke nodded to himself. 

“Good. I’ll see you in an hour then,” he lied, already turning toward the turbo lift that would take him back toward the quarters he had used the night before. An hour wasn’t much time to figure out an alternative route off the planet, but it would have to do. At the very least, he needed to get out of the palace and get lost in the city before anyone could miss him. 

Years of experience with needing to pack up and leave on sudden orders from the emperor or his father meant Luke was prepared with a go bag that he quickly scooped up from his temporary room and carried out with him. That took him five minutes that already seemed too long, and then he was walking as casually as possible out of the palace. 

He had familiarized himself with Aldera via maps before coming here the first time, but he hadn’t had the opportunity to actually explore the city. Still, he hoped it would be easy enough to navigate with only the vague map he had in his head. Much like Coruscant, the lower the level in the city, the seedier the area and that was clear as soon as he made it out of the palace district. 

Unlike Coruscant, Aldera was much smaller and had relatively little air traffic due to a system of public turbolifts and covered escalators throughout the city. Luke thanked his lucky stars for that now, as it meant he could move about the city freely, without having to commandeer a speeder or air taxi. 

There was an escalator normally accessible to palace staff not far from the landing platform, which made it the perfect spot for Luke to descend into the city. Even with stormtroopers standing by and checking ID, he was able to breeze past with his rank insignia as identification enough. Not a great sign for imperial security, but good for him now. 

This particular escalator descended ten levels into a residential district, but if he remembered correctly, he would be able to easily cross into a turbolift down to one of the busier shopping areas. It shouldn’t be too difficult to do, Luke had gotten himself lost in cities just like this before after all. Yet, as he looked at the picturesque Alderan mountain range in the distance, he considered the fact that he had never been trying to escape imperial attention before. The times when he had disappeared and blended in had always been in service of the Empire. 

What was he doing, he wondered? Everything he had seen growing up in and serving the Empire should show him that it was foolishness at best and insanity at worst to think you could avoid imperial eyes for long. 

Focus, he reminded himself. A glance at his pocket chrono told him twenty minutes had passed since his call with Ratlieg, which meant he only had forty more before someone came looking for him. He needed to stay focused. He had made his decision already and he refused to let himself back down now. 

Stepping off of the escalator, Luke nodded at the pair of storm troopers monitoring the upward escalator. They didn’t give him more than a glance before focusing on the small but steady stream of people looking to go up. This area was quieter than some others, but it was still a high traffic hour as locals made their way to home from work. 

Luke stuck out in the crowd in his white uniform, so he quickly shed his jacket as soon as he could duck behind a row of tall hedges that conveniently lined the buildings here. He would likely need to lose it entirely at some point, but for now, he bundled it up and tucked it into his go bag, replacing it with the green canvas jacket he had left over from his mission to Akiva. It was a little too light for the cool spring air in Aldera, but it would stick out less than his uniform did and that’s all he really cared about. His boots, unfortunately, would have to stay, as he hadn’t had the forethought to put a second pair of shoes in his bag. Untucking his pants, he let them fall over the boots to disguise what he could. What his pants didn’t cover, he quickly rubbed into the bushes to scuff up the shiny black as quickly as he could. 

He checked his chrono again; he had thirty-five minutes left. 

A deep breath, another look around, and then he stepped back out onto the walkway, joining the crowd that was headed toward the turbolifts. He didn’t get more than a brief look from anyone else, which was a good sign, but he wasn’t in the clear yet. Careful not to be too obvious, he matched his pace with the locals around him, doing his best to ignore the cold air that seemed to go right through the relatively thin material of his civilian clothing. This time of year in Aldera meant it wouldn’t be getting dark just yet, but the sun would set soon enough and Luke wasn’t looking forward to still being outside by that point. 

He spotted a group of humans that looked a little rowdier than the rest and decided to try his luck, hurrying up his steps to follow them into the lift they chose. The space was crowded and loud when he managed to squeeze in, which was perfect for his purposes. It was also warmer, which he could admit was nice, even as he was jostled into the wall. Most importantly, it gave Luke the perfect opportunity to plan out where he was going next. 

“...back to Great Lake again?” someone was saying, their voice pitched high to be heard over the din in the cramped lift. 

“No, no,” came the response, this one from a shorter figure directly to Luke’s right. They had long, light colored hair and dark skin, only just visible over a large scarf that nearly dwarfed their head. “Great Lake’s turned into a real imp bar, it’s no good anymore. I swear, all they want to do there is play the imperial march and talk about screwing the emperor.” 

A round of titters went around and Luke smirked. This was definitely the sort of crowd he had been looking for. It was rare that anyone from a core world would talk so openly in public, but Alderaan had avoided overt imperial influence for nearly two decades. This attitude would likely change soon enough, but for now it might make finding a pilot who could get him past the blockade that much easier. 

“I heard Basel’s place is jumpin’ these days,” a third person put in, leaning into Luke’s space to be heard. 

“Basel’s?” the figure in the scarf scoffed. “What do I look like, some sort of lowlife? Nothin’ but dealers and smugglers there. No, we should try the Appenza.” 

The debate continued, complaints about prices versus atmosphere bandied about over Luke’s head, but it sounded like he already knew where he needed to be. So long as he could find Basel’s, if that was even the actual name of the place. 

Finally, the turbolift stopped and everyone flooded out, all bumping shoulders in an effort to be out first. Luke pulled the strap of his bag closer and tucked his hands into his pockets, before moving to follow. The crowd quickly dispersed into the busy street, but he stayed close with the largest group as they wound their way through the increasingly narrow pathway between buildings, loudly laughing and joking. 

The lower levels of Aldera weren’t subterranean like Coruscant, but the sky seemed very far away nonetheless. All natural light was shadowed by the tall buildings around them, the shadows made deeper and darker as the sun descended. Warm lights glowed in strips along the sides of buildings to light the street and clever residents had used the space beneath the lights to plaster posters advertising various businesses and events. 

To Luke’s surprise, there was still a fair amount of plant life, little trees and vines dotting the street. The area may have seemed seedy compared to the palace district, but it still managed to look cleaner and friendlier than any of the lower levels of Coruscant ever did. 

The people were just the same, however, everyone with a hand close over their belongings and a fair amount of sentients who were clearly trying to hide concealed blasters. Beings lined the streets between trees and kiosks, yelling out to passersby to sell their goods. Luke barely avoided being pulled away from his group by a particularly enthusiastic junk seller, sidestepping just in time to avoid being grabbed.

The raucous banter and laughter of his group fell quiet then, which was the first sign Luke got before he spotted the infantry soldiers on patrol. The soldiers didn’t so much as glance at Luke or his unwitting guides, passing them by with their rifles held loosely in front of them. Despite that, the whole street seemed less boisterous. Luke wasn’t the only one who avoided eye contact with anyone even after the soldiers disappeared down the street. 

And then he spotted the sign that read Basel’s in flickering lights over a dark doorway. Apparently he wouldn’t need to look very hard to find this place, which was a stroke of luck he hadn’t expected.

Splitting from the group he had been using as cover, he ducked into the doorway, following steep metal stairs into a dimly lit space filled with booths, some tall tables, and a large bar right in the center. The walls of the cantina were covered in little framed holopics of local scenery and one large holoscreen that, Luke noted, wasn’t tuned into any imperial approved channel. Instead it was showing a musical performance of some group he had never seen before, which sounded, frankly, awful. 

Luke walked up to the bar and found a spot between a human in a large overcoat and a wookie, who was leaning on the bar casually. Doing his best not to stare at the wookie—he wasn’t sure he’d ever seen a free wookie on a core world—he eyed the bottles on the shelves behind the counter. Most of them were local spirits he didn’t recognize and he wasn’t too thrilled about drinking anything unfamiliar in the middle of trying to escape the planet. 

“You gonna order something, kid?” The bartender, a pantoran woman with short, lilac hair and a deep blue scar slashing through her lips, walked toward him with a disgruntled look on her face. “This ain’t a library, you hafta buy something.” 

Luke refrained from rolling his eyes and pulled out a few credits to lay out on the counter. 

“You got any Corellian beers?”

She nodded and grabbed his credits before walking away to grab a bottle from a lower shelf behind her. She pulled a bottle opener out of her apron, flicking off the bottle cap and then switching out his credits for change all in one smooth motion. 

He took the beer, but stopped from taking the change to ask, “Know of any pilots who could help someone get off planet?” 

She raised a lilac eyebrow at him and responded, “Nobody gets off Alderaan these days, or didn’t you notice all the star destroyers in the sky?” 

Luke smiled crookedly. “Like a couple of star destroyers ever stopped anyone.” 

She narrowed her eyes at him and slapped his change on the counter. “I don’t know any pilots like that.” 

Before he could think of any way to respond to that, she turned away.

Sighing, Luke pocketed his credits and turned around to look out over the room while he sipped at his drink. It was early for a crowd and a little too early in the week besides, but there were still plenty of sentients milling about the room. The majority were human, but a decent number were aliens as well. Alderaan was home to many refugees from the rest of the galaxy, he knew, but that pantoran hadn’t had any trace of an accent he could tell and he wondered if that was true of many of the others in the room. Beside him, the wookie shifted and let out a noise that sounded like a moan or maybe a growl. 

Luke looked up in surprise to find the wookie looking at him expectantly, as if they had said something and was expecting a response. 

“Uh, sorry,” Luke said, trying for polite. “I don’t speak shyriiwook.” 

The wookie moaned again and then walked away, leaving Luke wondering just what they had wanted with him. He spoke several galactic languages, and could understand a few more, but shyriiwook certainly hadn’t ever been on the curriculum for any schools he had attended. 

It didn’t matter really. He needed to find someone here who could get him off world tonight and it clearly wasn’t going to be a wookie he couldn’t understand anyway. He glanced at his chrono and sighed again. Twenty minutes until Ratlieg realized he was missing. Looking around the bar again, he considered his options. He could approach someone else cold, see if anyone was willing to talk to him. No one stuck out as an obvious pilot to him, so he was just considering the human standing to his right at the bar, when someone clasped a hand on his shoulder. 

“Hey, kid,” a voice interrupted his thoughts, followed by a tall man in a gray jacket and Corellian bloodstripes. Luke turned fully toward him, interest thoroughly piqued. The man eyed the bottle in Luke’s hand and then grinned at him. 

“You should join me and my friend for a drink,” he said, gesturing toward a booth in the back where the wookie from earlier was sitting with arms flung over the back of the bench comfortably. The Corellian threw an arm over Luke’s shoulder to steer him toward the booth, which he allowed only because he couldn’t sense any overt threat coming off the man. 

“Do you have a name, stranger?” Luke asked, a smile tugging at his lips as he was led to the booth. He slid onto the bench across from the wookie, but made no move to let the stranger box him in, which the man acknowledged with a dip of his head and a gesture that had the wookie moving over. 

“Han Solo,” the man introduced himself, picking up one of the large steins on the table. He tipped it toward Luke. Then he nodded toward the wookie and introduced, “And this is my co-pilot, Chewbacca.” 

Luke tipped his glass in return, meeting both their eyes, and took a drink. 

“Luke,” he introduced himself, then added the first Corellian surname he could think of, “Vigil.” 

“Vigil, huh?” Solo looked him over with open suspicion and asked, “You from the homeworld?” 

Luke shrugged casually. “By way of a few different places,” he answered. 

At that, Solo’s brow shot up. “With that accent, I’d say they were pretty high places."

Luke shrugged again. “I get around,” he answered. 

Solo smirked. “Yeah, and I hear you’re looking for a pilot to get you off world."

“Are you that pilot?” Luke asked. “I need to get to Taris as fast as possible.” 

“If you’re looking for fast, you’re in the right place,” Solo told him. He leaned forward conspiratorially. “You’re looking at the Captain of the Millenium Falcon.” 

Luke stared at him, waiting for an explanation of what that was supposed to mean, until Solo let out an offended sound and shared a look with Chewbacca. 

“What? You’ve never heard of the Millenium Falcon?” Solo scoffed. 

He raised his brows. “Can’t say I have.”

“That’s the ship that made the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs,” Solo claimed, still incredulous that a total stranger had never heard of his vessel. 

“That seems unlikely.” While Solo was huffing at that, he continued, “I just need to know if it’s fast enough to get past that blockade.” 

“Ha! We’ve outrun plenty of imperial starships—and not those bulk cruisers, mind you,” he bragged, elbows on the table as he leaned forward again. “I’m talking about the big Corellian ships now.” 

Luke took another sip of his drink, not bothering to hide his incredulity. 

“She’s the fastest ship you’re gonna find around here,” Solo insisted. “And she already made it through the blockade last week. How do you think we got here, huh?”

Luke set his bottle down and raised his hands as if in surrender. 

“So what’s the cargo?” Solo asked. 

“Just me,” Luke answered. “And no questions asked.” 

Han laughed. “You in some kinda trouble, kid?” 

Luke frowned seriously. “I’d just like to avoid bringing any attention to myself.” 

“You know this is all going to cost you extra, right?” Solo leaned back in his seat and shared another look with his co-pilot. “Alderaan’s a popular place these days. Seems everyone wants to get on or get off in a hurry.” 

He paused and looked Luke over, likely trying to gauge how much he could charge and still get the job. 

“Twenty thousand, all in advance,” he announced. 

Now it was Luke’s turn to scoff. “I could buy my own ship for that price,” he said. “Ten thousand.” 

“What do you think this is, a local taxi?” Solo looked at him flatly. “That’ll barely cover the cost of fuel around here. Nineteen thousand’s as low as I’ll go.” 

In the past, haggling had always been more something he did as part of a cover and not out of any real worry for money, but he needed to consider the fact that he was about to lose access to all of his legitimate accounts and possibly the illegitimate ones as well. He’d never really planned to flee the Empire, so he hadn’t set up his offshore accounts with that in mind. He’d mostly done it so that he could maintain covers on missions and for a sense of privacy, so he couldn’t guarantee that those accounts wouldn’t be found shortly. Not to mention, he knew he didn’t have that much money hidden away anyway. 

“Fifteen up front,” Luke returned. “And I’ll get the other five to you when we reach our destination.” 

The wookie said something then, which sounded like a bark to Luke, to which Solo smirked before smoothing his expression back to something more serious. Luke didn’t bother to mention that he couldn’t guarantee that he’d be able to provide that final five thousand on Taris, but Solo clearly thought he’d hit the jackpot. 

“All right, you got yourself a deal,” Solo said. “We’ll leave as soon as you’re ready. Hangar seventeen, this level.” 

Luke nodded sharply. “I’m ready now,” he said, already moving to stand. 

“Whoa there, you in some kind of a hurry?” Solo asked, clearly surprised at such urgency. Luke frowned down at him and glanced at his chrono. His time was just about up. 

“I said I needed to go fast and that I didn’t want any questions,” Luke snapped. “Are you backing out?” 

Solo sighed theatrically and flung his hands out airily. “No, no, now works,” he said. “Let’s go, Chewie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wish we'd get to see more of Alderaan in one of the shows or movies. It's always alluded to as being so wonderful, I would like to see it! Anyway, I love Luke, he is such a rude boy.


	9. Cheap Tricks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It sure has been a week, huh. Anyway, if you can and if you're in the US, consider donating to [Fair Fight](https://secure.actblue.com/donate/fairfightga2018/?refcode=SOTUSYAsite), Stacy Abram's PAC to get the vote to more people.

Getting onto Alderaan had been a hassle and a half, almost not worth the payment he’d gotten to smuggle crates of he-didn’t-care-what onto the planet. Getting past a few local patrols was one thing, but this level of blockade was more than anything Han and Chewie had ever seen. Whatever had set the Imperials off also made local business a drag, everyone more interested in jumping at shadows than talking business. He hadn’t been lying when he told the pretty boy with the fake name that everyone wanted on or off the planet—but most of those people didn’t want to pay what it took for a trip like that and Han was not running a charity. 

To make matters worse, the whole damn place was crawling with imperial goons, which meant Chewie was itching for a fight. As much as Han would love to watch Chewie take a few of them out, he didn’t particularly want to deal with the whole lot of them coming down on their ears. 

So yeah, maybe Han was nearly as desperate as the client to get off this fancy hunk of rock. Next time someone tried to convince him that there was big money to be made off a Core World, he’d be sure to tell them where to stick it. The Outer Rim may have fewer credits, but if it meant less imps in his life, Han would be a happy man. Not to mention how much further a few credits went out there. He’d swear the drinks on Alderaan alone had eaten half their last paycheck, not to mention the fuel. 

Takeoff would be easy enough. He had some faked credentials for a local flight, so all he had to do was get out of Aldera airspace and then head for the atmosphere. That’s where things would get tricky. The blockade around Alderaan was no joke, much as Han was proud of the Falcon for making it past it the first time. 

“Look, kid." Han shot an irritated look at the client before turning back toward the front of the cockpit. “Why don’t you go buckle in over in the lounge.” 

“How are you planning to get past the star destroyers?” Luke asked, ignoring Han’s suggestion. 

Han rolled his eyes. “Didn’t I say the Millennium Falcon’s fast?” 

He punched the takeoff sequence into the ship computer while Chewie went through last minute pre-flight checks. Then he moved toward the pilot’s seat, irritated to note that Luke had dogged his step. As soon as he sat down, Luke had a hand at the back of the pilot’s chair and was leaning forward to inspect the dashboard. 

“Sure,” Luke agreed, sounding distracted. “But star destroyers’ guns are plenty fast, too.” 

“You sayin’ you don’t believe I can do it?” Han asked, twisting his head up to look at the boy. 

“I’m not saying that." He didn't sound particularly convincing. 

“Good,” Han said, pulling down the lever to start the engines. “Because you already transferred the upfront payment, and we don’t do refunds.”

After a quick conversation with the bored sounding controller in charge of the hangar and a sharp jerk that sent Luke skittering back from where he’d been standing, the Falcon started to rise into the air. 

“And you’re sure this ship is safe to fly?” The sarcasm in his voice was laced with real worry. 

Han rolled his eyes and hit the accelerator, sending them flying out over the Alderan mountains. 

“It would be a lot safer to fly if you would go sit the hell down,” he snapped, throwing a look back at Luke. 

“Where are we going?” Luke once again ignoring Han’s suggestion to buckle in. 

“Look, no one flies out of the capital and makes it straight to space these days,” he said. “Doesn’t matter what transponder codes you use, folks’ve got eyes and we’re sure as hell not in a shuttle.” 

“So you filed this as an intraplanetary trip,” the kid said, putting the pieces together.

“Got it in one.” It didn’t take long to get far enough out of the capital to start their ascent to space, so he added, “Kid, you’ve really gotta sit down now. Go buckle in.” 

A huff and then steady footsteps away were the only sign of the boy’s acquiescence. Han breathed a sigh of relief at the same time Chewie made a comment about what a control freak their current client was. 

“Tell me about it,” he muttered, then quickly stood to set the computer to transmit the codes he’d paid more for than he wanted to think about. 

Shockingly, everything went according to plan. Apparently the price he’d paid for those codes had been worth it. The imperials didn’t seem to notice them at all and by the time any of them were maybe considering if they should do a sight check on the supposed imperial shuttle flying past them, the Falcon had already made the jump to hyperspace. 

For a few moments, Han and Chewie just sat in the cockpit, watching the view and chatting casually, before they were interrupted by the client skulking back into the cockpit. 

“You actually made that look easy,” the kid marveled. 

“Seriously, did you think I was kidding when I said we could do it?” Han demanded, not bothering to mention that he hadn’t expected things to go nearly that smoothly himself. 

Chewie threw in his own grunt of support and Han grinned at his friend. 

“I thought there was a seventy-five percent chance we were going to get blown into the stars,” Luke answered casually. 

Han stared at him while Chewie woofed incredulously. 

“Yeah, what he said.” Han thumbed at the wookie, then stared at the kid some more. “Why the hell did you agree to this if you thought we were probably going to die?” 

Luke shrugged. “I needed to get off Alderaan."

“You’re a lot crazier than you come off." Shaking his head, he turned back to the dashboard to fiddle with some buttons while he considered their client. He wasn’t one to poke his nose where it didn’t belong, but it was good to have a measure of clients and this kid clearly wasn’t just some rich kid looking to escape the occupation. He was obviously using a fake name and if he was from Corellia, then Han was the queen of Naboo. 

Besides, Han would recognize military boots anywhere. No one else wore those awful, shiny black things. Han certainly hadn’t ever forced himself into them after he got out of the service—he’d ditched his last pair the first chance he got. 

“Hey, do you have anywhere I can clean up?” Luke asked, breaking into Han’s thoughts. 

“Sure,” he responded easily, turning to look at the boy. “Probably not a bad idea to do that now. We’re going to have to drop out of hyperspace in about an hour and reroute.” 

Luke nodded, eyes on the view port and a stiff line to his shoulders. 

“Thanks.”

\---

Taris wasn’t a world Han had ever visited before and he couldn’t say he was glad to be changing that. From orbit, it looked less like the gold he imagined they’d like it to be and more of a sickly yellow. In atmo, it was worse because it wasn’t quite as industrialized as the view from afar had promised. Instead, he realized, it was also covered in spots of swamp and starship graveyards under that awful, yellow atmosphere. 

“You really know how to pick a destination, don’t you,” Han grumbled, tilting his head up at the client, who was yet again leaning over the back of the pilot’s seat like he’d never heard of personal space before. 

“I didn’t pick it,” Luke answered, as if that was supposed to mean anything. Han bit his tongue, literally, to keep from asking. He didn’t want to know. He did not want to know. He wanted to get his last five grand and then get back to the sorts of jobs he and Chewie were best at. No more core worlds or obvious deserters. 

Maybe Jabba had forgiven him for that dumped spice by now. 

“How close can we land to the senate district?” Luke asked, eyes trained on the view below.

“You want to put down there?” Han looked at him incredulously. “You realize this planet’s imperial, right? Senate District’ll be swarming with imps.”

Luke’s lips thinned out and he nodded thoughtfully. “It’s where I need to go,” he said, finally meeting Han’s eyes. “You can do it, can’t you?” 

Han rolled his eyes, quietly agreeing with the rude comment Chewie made in Shyriiwook.

“Whatever, kid,” he said. “I’m not the one running from the Empire.” 

“I never said I was—” Luke started, his eyes narrowed. Han flung his hands up defensively, raising his shoulders in a casual shrug. 

“Hey, it’s none of my business.” 

Luke’s eyes flashed. 

“No,” he agreed, his tone sharp. “It’s not.” 

Whatever issue the client was dealing with, Han decided he didn’t much care. And luckily, Taris didn’t have nearly the imperial presence Alderaan had. There were no star destroyers to fake out and even local air traffic control seemed to be following local protocols, rather than standard imperial ones. He and Chewie were able to find a hangar to land in just outside the Senate district, where they’d be able to park overnight if need be. Pricing wasn’t too bad either. It really was good to be back in the outer rim. 

The hangar bay was largely empty, only a couple other ships occupying a spot across the way, and Han had to wonder how often Taris was really a destination these days. He imagined that there were a lot of old hangars just like this, sitting mostly empty. What used to be a planet with nearly as many sentients as Coruscant was now home to maybe a billion—less even than the population of Alderaan. The place was a giant dying city and it showed.

Luke looked restless as they made their way out of the ship, impatiently fingering at the strap of his bag while clenching and unclenching his jaw as he watched Han negotiate docking fees with the deck officer. Standing next to Chewie, the client was completely dwarfed and he clearly knew it too, considering the way he kept trying to subtly shift out of Chewie’s reach. Finally, Han got the deck officer to agree to a reasonable price so that he could rejoin the others before the kid actually bolted. 

“All right,” Han said, glancing at Chewie before turning his attention back on their client. “We got you here safe and sound and in good time, to boot. Let’s get that transfer going.” 

As if all of the restless energy from before had been a figment of imagination, it all disappeared and the kid suddenly looked much calmer. Han couldn’t blame him. Getting down to business was just the sort of thing Han liked when he was stressed too—especially times like now, when he was the one getting paid. Keeping his bag strapped to him, Luke swung it around and dug through what looked like a pile of white fabric to pull out a nicely sized credit chip. He looked at it for a moment, then turned back toward Han and handed it over. 

Han immediately passed it over to Chewie for inspection, waiting to get an affirmative that the chip was real, then nodded at the client. He stuck a hand out. 

“Good doing business with you.” He smiled crookedly as he shook the boy’s hand, amused at how reluctant Luke looked to be shaking hands. He let go as quickly as possible, stepping out of Han’s reach with a tight smile.

“Thank you, Captain Solo,” he said formally. Then he nodded, glanced at Chewie, and pivoted on his heel and walked out of there. 

Han heaved a sigh of relief. 

“What say you and me get something to eat,” Han suggested, grinning up at Chewie, “and talk about how we’re sticking to regular cargo for a while, huh?” 

Chewie chuffed in amusement and agreed. 

“Think there’s anywhere to eat around here?” Han mused as they did a last check that everything on the ship was secure. “I get the feeling this isn’t our usual part o’ town.” 

Chewie woofed in agreement, then suggested they head down a few levels and see what they could find. There was a public turbo lift just outside the hangar that promised to take them down to Middle City for ten credits. A total scam to have to pay for a lift, but cheaper than an air taxi at least. A faint smile on his lips, Han swiped the credit chip they’d just gotten as he considered what sorts of trouble they could get up to on a night on the town. 

The little light above the credit machine blinked red. 

“What the…” Han said, then tried it again. Again, the red blinking. 

“That little swindling, worm-infested, son of a—” Han started, whirling around to look up at his friend in outrage. “He cheated us! This card is empty!” 

Chewie howled and immediately swung around, looking out over the walkway that led in the other direction, toward the Senate District proper. Then he broke out in a run. Cursing, Han followed, already unclipping the holster cover for his blaster as he sprinted to keep up with the wookie. 

“There!” He pointed at the blonde figure ahead of them, just about to enter a more populated area lined with upscale shops. At Han’s voice, Luke’s head snapped around and then he broke out into a sprint away from them, shoving a fancy looking local to the ground as he moved. 

The kid was fast. Chewie was over two meters of athletic wookie, immediately managing to get far ahead of Han, but he still couldn’t catch Luke right away. The shopping district they’d run into wasn’t that crowded, but it was busy enough to present a problem getting through the people. Chewie managed to clear a path with a roar that sent locals scattering out of his way, but the boy weaved in and around beings like he barely had to look. Backpack bouncing, he ducked under an old, gilded sign advertising a salon, then swung himself around a pole and actually jumped over a bench of school aged kids. Then he disappeared around a corner, quickly followed by Chewie. 

Panting, Han slowed to a jog. He trusted Chewie to stop the thief, but he didn’t want to make his friend do all the work. Rounding the same corner into the alleyway, Han cursed again at the deserted area before following the sound of a wookie roar around another corner and down a set of steep, metallic stairs. 

There, at the bottom, Chewie had managed to jump on top of the welcher and was holding him with an arm twisted behind his back. 

“—I can explain!” He was saying, his voice breathless and desperate as it echoed around the semi enclosed courtyard they had landed in. 

“Oh, yeah?” Han said, jumping down the last few steps and pulling his blaster out. “You’d better get talking then.” 

“If your pet wookie would let me up—” Luke started, stopping when Chewie roared in his ear. Han smirked. 

“Chewie’s no one’s pet,” Han translated helpfully. “And he’s about two seconds from ripping that arm out of its socket if you don’t start explaining how you plan to get us what you owe.” 

“Okay,” Luke hissed, his voice even more choked as Chewie twisted his arm further. “Just let me up!”

Chewie growled, but Han said, “Come on, let him up a little.” 

Grumbling, Chewie took his knee off the kid’s back and hefted him up onto his knees. Han noted with a grin that the wookie kept Luke’s arm twisted behind his back. 

“Now, you were just about to clue us in on how you’re planning to pay us." Han knelt down to be at face level with the little cheat. He let the smile fall off his face for dramatic effect. “Start talkin’.” 

Luke grimaced and shifted in Chewie’s hold. “My sister.” He winced and stopped as his arm was pulled just a little too hard. He shot a glare at the wookie before going on. “My sister is somewhere in the Senate District. She’ll pay you what I owe. My accounts were frozen, but she'll be able to help if you just let me go find her.” 

Han and Chewie both laughed at that. 

“Sorry, sorry, you want us to just let you go?” Han shook his head, incredulous at the audacity. “I don’t think so.” 

Luke snarled. “Fine! Then come with me,” he proposed, his brows pulled together and his lips tight. “Help me find my sister and you’ll get your five thousand.”

“It’s gonna have to be more than that now.” Han scowled, fingering the trigger on his blaster. “We don’t like welchers.” 

“I wasn’t trying to cheat you!” Luke’s eyes widened innocently, his brows pushing together. “I didn’t know they’d freeze my accounts so fast.” 

“Yeah, sure,” Han drawled. “And you had no idea your accounts were getting frozen after defecting.” 

“I didn’t defect!” His young face contorted into a mask of rage for just a moment, before he apparently got control of himself again. All wide-eyed innocence again, he insisted, “And I didn’t know that my accounts would get frozen as quickly as they did.” 

Han pursed his lips and stood. “And this supposed sister of yours,” he said, “she’ll have the money you owe?” 

“Yes,” Luke answered evenly. “But only if I can find her before she leaves the planet.” 

“You don’t actually know where she is?” Han asked

“I know where she was two days ago,” Luke answered. Chewie groaned in irritation, but Luke plowed on, “Just help me find my sister, she’ll pay you, and we can all go our separate ways.” 

Chewie barked out a particularly crass comment about Luke’s parentage and lack of honor— which Han couldn’t help laughing at—before suggesting they do what it took to get that payment. Luke twisted his head around to try to get a better look at the wookie behind him, as if that would help him suddenly learn Shiirywook. 

“Fine, fine." Han smirked at the kid's confusion, then gestured casually toward him. “Chewie, let him stand.” 

With obvious reluctance, Chewbacca did, eyeing Luke suspiciously as he dusted himself off with visible irritation.

“We’ll help you find your sister—” Han shot him a threatening look—“But it had better not take too long. Chewie here gets twitchy when he doesn’t get his money, see. You take too long or try to pull something on us and he might just pull that arm out of its socket after all—and that’s only if I don’t just shoot you first, you got it?” 

Luke rolled his eyes, clearly not taking the threat seriously. Still, he nodded.

“I understand,” he said. “Now, I need my datapad. I have her last known coordinates. We can start there.” 

And with that, he was all business again, as if he hadn’t just been nearly killed by an angry wookie. He dug a small, gray datapad out of his backpack, powering it on without another word. It was clearly military issue and Han hoped like hell the kid had had the forethought to get rid of any of the usual tracking technology that would have been stuffed in that thing. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, it was painfully obvious that he was a defector. 

“There.” Luke jabbed a finger at the screen before turning it off and tucking it away again. “A security recorder caught sight of her at forty-one degrees, fifty-five minutes, fifty-four point three-seven-three-two seconds north; eighty-seven degrees, thirty-eight minutes, nineteen point two-oh-four seconds west.”

Han stared at him. 

“That’s right on the edge of the Senate District,” Luke clarified. “On the opposite side from where we are now.” He grimaced then and added, “And I don’t have any credits anymore, apparently, so we’d best start walking.” 

Han groaned. “Do you have any idea how big the senate district around here is?” he asked. “No, we’ll get a taxi. But it is going on your tab.” 

Which just left the matter of actually finding a taxi. The whole area they were in seemed nearly deserted, forcing them to trek back the way they’d come in hopes of finding something. The little shopping area looked a busier than before, but it was all foot traffic. 

“There should be more air traffic the closer we get to the center of the Senate District,” Luke commented informatively, leading the way with a glance at Han and Chewie. “We’ll be able to find a taxi somewhere there.” 

“I take it you’ve been here before?” Han asked. Luke gave him an odd look, tilting his head slightly to the side as if in confusion. 

“Oh, no,” he answered, shaking his head. “I simply did my research.” 

“The same research that had you pulling security cameras on your sister?” Han asked suspiciously. Luke narrowed his eyes at Han, but didn’t deign to respond. 

Whatever the reason for his research, he’d been right. The further they went in the direction Luke pulled him, the more populated it became. At the same time, the buildings seemed to get shinier and cleaner and the clothes on the locals seemed finer. He could practically see the price of the air taxi climbing the further they walked as well. This whole thing with the sister had better pan out, Han thought to himself. 

Han had barely processed that they were finally in the right spot to find a ride before Luke’s arm had shot out to hail a cab down. If the driver, a short duros woman in bright orange goggles, had any concerns about what an odd group they probably made, she didn’t comment. 

“Where to?” she asked as they piled in. Luke listed off the coordinates again, this time not bothering to refer to his datapad again. Apparently she knew the area well enough to understand where that was, because she just nodded and, with a jerk, the air taxi was speeding off. It wasn’t often he allowed anyone else to pilot a vehicle he was in, but he could admit this lady knew how to fly. They whipped through traffic at a breakneck speed Han couldn’t help but appreciate, swerving around other speeders without slowing down a bit. 

The Senate District was probably the only nice part of this whole planet and even that was questionable. It still looked too underpopulated for the number and size of the buildings and he got the feeling that as soon as you went down a level or two, the quality dropped right off. But at least from the air, as they sped by, everything looked shiny and golden. The air path they took threaded them through some of the tallest buildings, covered in fancy looking ornaments and statues that made Han wonder if any of them were real gold. 

The area they flew into was on the edge of the Arts District, so announced by a gaudy set of holographic signs, which looked like it had seen better days. The buildings here dropped dramatically in height and many of them were covered in peeling paint and statues that looked like they’d been defaced by acid rain. Their destination turned out to be a somewhat grand, old building with shuttered windows and a rusting sign that announced that it was the Grand Civic Opera House. 

He and Chewie both hopped out of the speeder, Chewie just tense enough that Han could tell he wasn’t the only one who was feeling uneasy about all of this. Before Han could even think about shelling out the credits for the ride, Luke was handing over another credit chip, probably as defunct as the one he’d tried to pay them with. 

“Do you know of any places to stay around here?” Luke asked the cabbie casually, a small smile on his lips as he leaned slightly into her space. Whatever charms he thought he had didn’t seem to be working for the duros, because she simply took the credit chip with a grunt and leaned a little away. 

“Sure,” she answered gruffly. She jabbed out a finger, pointing over Luke’s shoulder to a street beyond the opera house. “There’s a whole set of hotels down that way.” 

“Thank you,” he said, hopping out of the speeder to join Han and Chewie. 

Without another word, the air taxi was off into the air again, speeding away from them. Han huffed out a small laugh. 

“We should probably get moving before she realizes you cheated her." He was feeling more tense at the situation than he wanted to admit to, so it was a minor relief that Luke simply nodded, a small grimace at the reminder. 

“If she was here recently, it’s likely she’s staying somewhere nearby,” Luke announced, already moving in the direction the cabbie had pointed. “It won’t be anywhere too high profile, so this area makes some sense.” 

“Listen, boy, if this is some kinda trick—” Han started, his hand twitching to his sidearm reflexively. 

Luke scowled at him and cut him off, “It’s not! And if you really thought it was, I suspect you would have killed me already, so enough with the threats."

He started to move, then jerked his head when he noticed the smugglers standing still. "Let’s go.” 

\---

In the Imperial City, night had fallen over the world like a veil, sparkling lights shining through the darkness. Dressed in shimmering clubwear under a more discreet cloak, Mara Jade reflected those lights back out onto the city even as she blended in with the crowds of fashionably dressed partygoers. 

Anyone who didn’t know her would have certainly thought she was just another youth, enjoying a night out in the most famous entertainment district in the galaxy. Almost no one did know her, however, and that was to her benefit as she carried out her master’s orders.

A tugging sensation at the back of her mind and a sense of her master’s displeasure was enough to stop her in her tracks, however. Her master sent no words, but she could sense his anger even from the Uscru District, where she had been scouting out a meeting spot for a mission. Abandoning her reconnaissance, she pulled her dark cloak around herself, blotting out the reflective lights. With a brief look at her surroundings to make sure nothing was amiss here, she sprinted back to her swoop bike, left secured outside of one of the more reputable clubs in the area. 

She was only a few levels down from the surface here, but it was already enough that she could admit to some relief at finding her bike still sitting where she had left it. She keyed in her personal code, as well as one that would ward off any overzealous traffic patrollers, and sped her way back toward the Senate District. Imperial Center was famously glamorous from above, more than it ever was on the ground, but Mara didn’t bother to take in the sights. She had spent most of her life here and, regardless, had no time to admire the glow of the city below her. 

She reached the Imperial Executive Building in record time, barely stopping to park the bike in one of the designated areas hidden in the large dome. Then she raced through service hallways and passageways meant only for droids, using knowledge she had gained from years of sneaking through the building undetected. She only stopped to slow her breathing once she had reached a hidden doorway that led directly into the emperor’s office. As she caught her breath, she also adjusted her hair and clothes quickly, steadfastly ignoring the fact that she had dressed to fit in with club goers, rather than to see the emperor. Then she moved toward the door.

Two red guards stood at attention on either side of the doorway, but they parted without a word as she approached. She barely spared them a glance, striding through the door as soon as it slid open. 

Emperor Palpatine sat at his desk, turned so that he was facing out the floor-to-ceiling windows. There was a hunch to his shoulders that she knew was a bad sign for his mood, but she did not slow her steps toward the desk until she had curved around to the front. There, she lowered herself to one knee, genuflecting in silence. 

Several long minutes passed before he spoke, leaving Mara more nervous before her master than she had been in years. She could feel the Dark Side churning around her, restless and just barely restrained. She had the sense that it might very suddenly burst into a display of power she very much would not like to see.

She heard the chair turn in a soft swish and the barely-there sound of fabric moving before he spoke. 

“Mara, my child, come forward.” 

She rose quietly, not reassured by his calm tone. Something was wrong. 

“My lord.” She bowed as she stepped up to the desk. 

“I trust your investigation has been going well?” he asked, golden eyes studying her face closely. 

“Yes, my lord.” She swallowed, wondering what had put him in such a strange mood, then elaborated, “I am meeting with the governor’s aide tomorrow. She—”

The emperor held up a hand, stopping her. 

“Your work on that particular project is done now,” he told her. She frowned, confusion and worry clawing up her throat now. Had she done something to displease him? As if sensing her thoughts, he smiled at her. “I have a more important mission for you now.” 

“Your wish is my command,” she assured him.

His smile widened for a moment and she felt his satisfaction wash over her like a flood of warmth. Then he turned serious again. 

“If only all of my servants were so loyal,” he lamented. “But it seems I have put too much faith in Lord Vader’s ability to foster loyalty in his charge.” 

Mara’s eyes widened in shock. “Skywalker?” 

Luke Skywalker had betrayed their master’s trust? Why? Much like her, he had been taken in by the Emperor to serve a glorious destiny, but he should have been even more grateful than her to have been allowed so close to the throne. As the child of a Jedi, he was lucky to even be alive, let alone provided with such an honored position in the emperor’s circle. He had been raised by the Sith Apprentice himself to become one of His Majesty’s most trusted agents.

She _had_ always thought that Vader was too easy on him, she considered with a wrinkled nose. While she had trained full time from the day the emperor brought her to the palace, Luke was sent to boarding schools with the passive imperial elite before being put through the officer’s program at Royal Imperial. She had already been in the field two years before he even graduated school, yet he had acted like his new rank bar made him better than her. 

Her master acknowledged her clear disgust with an approving dip of his head.

“I have allowed my apprentice to be too soft on the boy, that is evident to me now,” he told her quietly, leaning toward her as if letting her in on a secret. She knew that the emperor didn’t admit to mistakes in front of just about anyone else and let herself feel the honor in that. Then he went on, “And I cannot trust him to resolve this matter now, which is why you will be collecting our wayward agent and bringing him back to me.” 

She smiled. It wouldn’t endear her to Lord Vader, but he had never liked her, so what did it matter to her? Watching Skywalker lose the smug superiority he wore like a trendy cloak would be well worth earning Vader’s ire.

“It would be my pleasure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Considering how many ecumenopolises and desert planets there are in the Star Wars galaxy, you'd think there'd be at least as many planets that were fertile agricultural worlds in order to feed the rest...... Taris is yet another Coruscant-like planet and there are several others. Where do they get food from?? I have questions.


	10. A Brighter Future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to heat up and I'm pretty excited to be posting these chapters. I hope you all like where the story is going! If you do, let me know in the comments :D

“I have dreams of a brighter future,” Tynnra Pamlo had said on their last night together, following days of secretive discussions. 

Winter had been sent to Taris with her now brown hair, not only as a decoy for her sister, but also to negotiate an exchange of goods and intelligence with the former senator. The Alliance had hoped that the attack on Alderaan would have drawn sympathy from more sectors, but Pamlo wasn’t the only member who had pulled back to avoid similar reprisals from the Empire. Their budget and supplies were lower than ever while the threat to Alderaan and the dissolution of the senate seemed only to have spread more fear across the galaxy.

It hadn't been comfortable to negotiate for aid from a woman who had made it very clear what danger she was putting her own world in by providing it, but after hour upon hour of back and forth, Winter was satisfied with what the agreement they had come to. Pamlo was no longer a senator, but she maintained respect among her people and connections that she was willing to leverage in the Alliance's favor. In return, the Alliance agreed to come to Taris' aid in the event of an unprovoked attack by the Empire.

On the final day Winter of their negotiations, after they had nailed down the specifics of their agreement, they stood at the window of the hotel room she had helped Winter acquire. Pamlo looked as regal as any queen of Alderaan. She had beautiful eyes, dark and wark, and deep brown skin that seemed to shine in the setting sunlight. Pamlo was probably twenty years Winter’s senior, the skin around her eyes just starting to show the time passing with thin wrinkles. Winter wondered idly where she had been when the Republic fell, if she had realized what was happening. She would have been around Winter’s age at the time. 

“I dream that one day there will be a time when we can strive for an independent Taris,” she continued, turning to look Winter in the eye. Outside, the sky—which Winter knew was nearly toxic after centuries of pollution—looked like it was ablaze. It was a stunning view if she forgot for a moment how dangerous the air was to breath for so many sentients. “Someday, my people will be free from the Empire, but I dream about a day when we are also free of our dependence on other worlds for supplies. Our ancestors dismantled Taris’s natural resources in their endless search for progress and productivity, but I believe that we can heal with time and effort.” 

“You are already thinking of what to do after the Empire falls?” Winter was unsure if she thought this was terribly overconfident of the woman or just optimistic. Then she wondered—had her parents already begun to make such plans? Her own thoughts on a future without the Empire were nebulous and vague. She hadn't ever lived in a galaxy without it, though she thought she had been shielded enough on Alderaan to be able to imagine what the rest of the galaxy could look like with a more noble governing body. 

Pamlo frowned at Winter, a small pinch appearing between her brows. “If we do not think of the future we want and make plans accordingly, how can we hope to achieve anything with this rebellion?” 

Then she swept a hand over the view out the window, the shimmering fabric of her robes floating gracefully along with her movement. 

“What is all of this for if not a better future for my people?” Her eyes were trained on Winter even as she left her arm raised toward the windows. “Taris has been dying for a millennium. The Empire has worsened conditions greatly, which is why we fight. But Palpatine did not create our problems. Our ancestors did.” 

Winter was still considering those words a day later, as she took one last stroll through the arts district. She would be leaving Taris the following day, so she took the time now to just take in buildings around her. Dilapidated as they were now, she was starting to see the beauty in their old fashioned designs. Many of these buildings had stood for centuries, even a millennium. They had outlived the Republic, survived into the Empire. Pamlo was right to be proud of her home world and right to be thinking toward its future more concretely. 

She had grown up surrounded by the rebellion in dozens of ways, big and small, always looking toward the end of the Empire. But how many times had she really thought through what ways Alderaan would need to change even after the fall of the Empire? 

Traveling across the galaxy to meet with people and to cover her sister’s trail was tiring, but the experiences were invaluable to her. It was worth it to be making connections and strengthening bonds for the rebellion, but she was also learning so much herself.

It was still dangerous work, however, pretending to be the most wanted sentient in the galaxy. It had been weeks and she had gotten no news of Leia having any truly close calls, but she knew that meant nothing for their safety. Winter had had a close call herself on Sullust, but she’d been able to rendezvous with the fleet there easily and jump away from that system before anyone came too near. 

Of course, she couldn’t go anywhere alone, but that was hardly a new state of being. Her work with Procurement and Supplies had been a rare opportunity for the princess to work completely alone, which had been nice in some regards, but mostly just very lonely. Now, she always had another member of the rebel alliance with her as backup. The role she’d decided to take on was worthy, she felt, but it was also dangerous. 

Tonight, her quiet companion was a fellow refugee from Alderaan. A somewhat recent recruit to the Alliance, Lieutenant Dune still looked somewhat uneasy around a blaster, but she was thoroughly confident in the way she moved. It was unsurprising. Alderaan had been a center for rebellious thinking from the very beginning, but as a pacifist world, the people weren’t generally trained in weaponry even if self-defense fighting wasn’t an uncommon practice. Winter’s mother had fought hard to keep any imperial military academies from being built on the planet to avoid militarizing their people, so it was no surprise that Alderaanian recruits weren’t very comfortable carrying arms. Mostly, Winter thought it was a sign of how desperate they had become that Alderaanians were now taking up arms to fight back. 

Dune was mostly content to stay by her side as they wandered down the street, Winter lost in her own thoughts as she admired the old buildings. There wasn’t much sound on the street either, with only a few other pedestrians and the occasional speeder interrupting their solitude. As such, the sudden yelling and pounding footsteps toward them was an abrupt change to the peaceful atmosphere. 

“Hey!” came a shout, followed immediately by a roar. 

Whirling around, Winter found herself shoved back by Lieutenant Dune. Whatever unease she had displayed with her sidearm before now seemed to have disappeared. Dune whipped her blaster out with all the ease of a trained soldier and fired a warning blast at the feet of the young man running toward them. 

“Stop!” he shouted, zagging to the side to avoid the blaster bolt, but otherwise seeming undeterred. “I’m not here to hurt you!” 

Winter found herself regretting the fact that she had declined a weapon of her own before the mission started. Right now, she felt utterly useless just standing back and watching Dune fire another shot, this time clearly aimed to hit. With a curse, the young man jumped out of the way and stopped running, just in time for two more figures to catch up—another human and a wookie. 

“Don’t come any closer,” Dune warned, holding an arm out at her side to keep Winter behind her. “Who are you? And what do you want?” 

“My name is Luke,” the young man answered, hands held out in front of himself placatingly as he took a slow step forward. “Leia knows me.” 

He craned his neck, trying to see better around Dune’s large figure, and then frowned. She didn’t recognize him, but that didn’t mean Leia wouldn’t. He was a light haired human with cool eyes and the sort of posture that betrayed him as having either aristocratic or military background. 

“I just want to speak with her." His voice took on an odd tone as he took another step forward. 

“Ma’am?” Dune said, deferring to Winter without bothering to turn her head at all. 

“That’s your sister?” Hissed the other human, sidling up to his friend with a hand on his blaster. The younger man just frowned and didn’t respond, but the wookie, still a few steps behind, barked something that Winter couldn’t understand. She’d only ever learned to understand a few polite phrases in Shyriiwook and that definitely wasn’t one of them. 

“Look, lady—” the man with the blaster, clearly a spacer by his dress, was losing his patience. “—put down the blaster already and let’s talk like rational adults, all right?” 

They definitely didn’t seem like imperials, Winter thought, and didn’t look quite like bounty hunters either. She stepped out in front of Lieutenant Dune with more confidence than she felt, gesturing for her guard to lower the weapon. 

Before she could speak, the younger man’s eyes narrowed. 

“You’re not Leia.” There was something dark in his tone that made Winter wonder if she’d made a mistake. 

“I never said I was,” Winter raised her chin, refusing to be cowed by the clear threat in his stance. “Who are you and why are you looking for Leia?” 

Scowling now, he opened his mouth to respond, only to be interrupted by his companion now raising his blaster and pointing it directly at him. 

“All right, that’s enough, Luke,” he growled, hissing out the name like he thought it was fake. 

“Wait!” Luke gasped. Then, moving faster than seemed possible for a human, he whipped out a blaster of his own that he must have been hiding under his jacket. The wookie howled and Winter felt herself jerked back by Dune. Around them, she realized that what few other pedestrians there had been on the street had scattered. 

“You’re Winter,” Luke said, eyes wide and edging on desperate. “I know Leia and I need you to call her. Just call.” 

“Oh, hell,” the other man muttered. “Look, I don’t know what kind of drama you’re mixed up in—”

“Hey!” 

Blast, Winter thought. Stormtroopers.

“Someone must have called them,” she said out loud. 

It was only a few of them, not even a whole squad, so she thought they probably hadn’t realized she specifically was the source of the problem. But, if not her, then why else would there be stormtroopers here? The planet was imperial, yes, but she didn’t think they had that large of a stormtrooper presence in the capital. 

The human with Luke immediately turned his blaster on the stormtroopers, loudly cursing Luke’s name as he did so.

“What the hell did you get us into?” he demanded angrily. 

“They’re here for you,” Luke announced, grim eyes trained on Winter’s face. “Well, Leia. We have to go.” 

Even as he spoke, Dune had already grabbed Winter’s arm and spun her around in the opposite direction. 

“We do,” Dune agreed, already starting to run with Winter’s arm in her hand. “But you’re not coming with us.” 

“Like hell!” Luke snapped, breaking into a run to follow. 

“You’re not coming with us,” Dune repeated, even as she let go of Winter’s arm and turned over her shoulder to aim a few shots at the stormtroopers. Winter whipped her own head around and found that one of the imperials had already fallen. Normally she might worry about the loss of life, but she couldn’t focus on it right now. If they caught her—

She couldn’t focus on that right now. 

“Where’s your ship?” Luke asked. 

“We are not taking you with us!” Dune said, her voice rising in volume. 

“We need to hide,” Winter said, already running out of breath from running. “We can’t run all the way back to the ship from here.” 

“There!” Luke pointed to a narrow alleyway between two golden buildings. Behind them, the Stormtroopers apparently decided they’d had enough and opened fire. 

Whatever Lieutenant Dune thought about Luke and the others joining them on the ship, she apparently agreed that the alleyway was the only way to go. Jerking to the right, she again grabbed Winter’s arm and hauled her forward and into the darkened side street. Just a few feet behind them now, the pair who’d come with Luke followed. 

The alleyway quickly descended into a set of metallic stairs, which they quickly leapt down, skipping several steps at a time. The wookie simply jumped the whole flight at once, landing directly behind them as his human companion quickly followed behind. A quick look around and then Dune tugged Winter toward an arched doorway. 

“Can you slice that door lock?” Luke was panting somewhat from the exertion, craning his neck to look back at the stairs they had just come down as he asked. 

The only response he got out of Dune was a hushed, “Shut up!” as she yanked the covering off the lock and started picking at the wires. 

“You better pick up the pace, lady,” the man behind Luke muttered, just before the door slid open. All five of them quickly shuffled into the space as the door slid closed behind them. Inside, it appeared they were in a residential apartment of some kind, clearly lived in recently. The furniture looked worn, but nice enough. With some relief, Winter thought it looked as if no one was home who might raise the alarm right away. 

The spacer gestured wildly with the blaster in his hand. “Why are we being chased?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Solo,” Luke snapped, whirling on his companion. “Maybe it had something to do with you pulling a blaster out in public!” 

“What, so this is my fault?” Solo scoffed. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.” 

“Shut up! Both of you,” Dune snapped. “We need to find a way out of here and you two squabbling isn’t helping. Now go find a window that doesn’t have a thousand meter drop!” 

“Yes, ma’am,” Solo responded, a little less sarcastically than he probably intended. Luke appeared chagrined, but moved to look as well. 

It was the wookie, whom Solo addressed as Chewie, who found the balcony in the bedroom a moment later. It was over a steep drop, but it was also connected to a whole row of balconies that led to an elevated pathway. Without any better options, the whole group went out onto the balcony and started climbing the dividing walls between apartments. Luke led the way at Dune’s insistence, then Winter, the lieutenant, and Han and Chewie following in the back. 

It seemed that by the time they reached the elevated walkway, they had lost their pursuers, but no one was interested in staying out in the open. 

“We can’t go back to the hotel,” Dune said, once they had reached a quiet side street and paused for a moment. “It could be compromised.” 

“We need to get off this planet,” Luke put in. “The imperials know you’re here—it’s how I found you.” 

Winter narrowed her eyes. “How did you find me?” she asked. “And who are you?” 

Luke grimaced and then shook his head. “It doesn’t matter right now. We need to leave and then I need to find Leia.” 

“No.” Winter made her voice firm, stepping forward and putting her hands on her hips. “I don’t know who any of you are or why you want to see my sister. I absolutely will not lead you to her unless I’m certain of who you are and what you want with her.” 

Luke pursed his lips and paused, perhaps considering how to respond to that. While he thought about it, Solo cut in, “Hey, we just want to get paid. This guy tried to cheat us out of five grand.” 

Winter narrowed her eyes at him. 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she told him, wondering why the man was still here. Did he honestly think all of this was worth a few thousand credits?

Apparently he did, because he continued, “Now, I don’t much care who gets us the money we’re owed. You, his sister, those imperials… it’s all the same to us.” 

Immediately after he’d finished speaking, Dune had him shoved into the wall with her forearm against his throat. 

“Don’t even think about it,” she snarled, only to tense when she realized that Chewie had come up behind her with some sort of large bow weapon. The wookie let out a menacing growl, jabbing Dune in the back with the weapon. Her lips tightened and then she took a step back from Solo. 

“Hey, no one needs to turn anyone into the Empire,” Luke said, hands out in a placating manner. “Winter, you can help these gentlemen with their cash flow problem, can’t you?” 

Winter glared at him. “And why should I?” she asked. “I don’t know you or what you want with my sister.” She eyed Solo and Chewie with some disgust and added, “We’ve done just fine against the Empire thus far without paying off paying off every thug in the galaxy who gets a bright idea about collecting on some bounty.” 

“Thug!” Solo repeated. “We’re not thugs! We’re just a couple of honest smugglers trying to make ends meet. And I don’t know about Chewie here, but I’m getting awfully tired of this whole thing.” 

“If you’re so tired of it, then I’d suggest you go find a better way to occupy your time.” Winter sniffed. “We are leaving and you three are not invited to join us, so it’s for the best—”

“I’m not letting you go until you tell me how to find Leia,” Luke interrupted. 

“And I’m not letting any of you go until we get paid for our time,” Han added. 

“Ma’am.” Dune’s lips were pinched, eyes flickering across the others with open distaste. “We need to move. There are sure to be more coming.” 

Winter nodded. “We should get back to the hangar bay before they call in any sort of air support to stop us from leaving.” 

“Seriously,” Solo muttered. “Who are you people?” 

Winter didn’t bother to respond, just followed her companion as they made a circuitous path back toward the old hangar where they’d rented space for their ship for the week. No one spoke aside from occasional mutterings between Solo and Chewie, which was largely incomprehensible to Winter without being able to understand half of the conversation. Luckily, they weren’t too far from the hangar at this point. 

Less luckily, the hangar was completely surrounded by stormtroopers. 

Dune cursed and Winter couldn’t help agreeing with the sentiment. 

“We need to take the Falcon,” Luke announced, turning back toward the two who had threatened his life already multiple times now as if he wasn’t worried at all. 

“Absolutely not." Scowling, Solo crossed his arms over his chest in a pose that was maybe supposed to be intimidating, but mostly looked petulant to Winter. “This is already way more than we signed up for and you didn’t even pay everything you promised. No, we’re out of here and you’d better hope we don’t run into each other again.” 

“We’ll pay what he owes,” Winter cut in hurriedly. “And whatever the cost is to fly us elsewhere.”

Solo’s brows shot up and then a grin spread onto his lips slowly. “All right, you got yourself a deal.” He thrust a hand out to shake. “Winter, right?” 

She nodded, shaking his hand somewhat reluctantly. “We need to move.” 

\---

“You flew here on this?” Winter asked hesitantly, eyeing the ship as the ramp lowered for them. She turned to the taller man. “You must be very brave, Captain Solo.” 

Lieutenant Dune snorted, but didn’t say anything as the captain squawked defensively about the integrity of his ship. Luke also looked like he was holding back a laugh as they all made their way up the ramp. The walk across town had taken far longer than Winter was comfortable with, so despite her misgivings, she followed suit. 

“How quickly can we be out of Taris space?” she asked. “I think it’s best we leave the system before they figure out we found another ship.” 

“You are standing on board the fastest ship around,” Solo declared haughtily. “The Millenium Falcon once made the Kessel Run in under twelve parsecs, you know.” 

Winter nodded slowly, though she had no idea what the Kessel Run was or whether that was an impressive number. A look at Dune’s dubious expression suggested that it was, perhaps, a little overly impressive. 

Noting the lackluster reception to his announcement, Solo scowled at them and gestured in the direction of a game table and bench seat. 

“Just strap in,” he ordered them, “and we’ll get in the air. I’d also rather avoid any more imperial ships this week. One blockade was enough, thanks.” 

Before Winter could question that, he’d marched out of the room with Chewie following closely on his heels, rumbling something to the captain. She turned to Luke, who was already strapping in.

“Blockade?” 

He nodded and Winter moved to sit down next to him, Dune following to sit on her other side. 

“We came from Alderaan,” he explained. “This ship might not look like much—and I don’t know about his Kessel Run story—but it did manage to run that blockade.” 

She stared at him, but it was Dune who asked, “You were on Alderaan?” 

He nodded in affirmative and Dune narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re not Alderaanian,” she said. “What were you doing there?” 

“Looking for Leia,” he answered simply, as if that meant anything. Before either of the women could comment on that, the engines roared to life with a jerk, knocking the wind out of Winter for a moment. 

“Why do you want to see her so badly?” Winter questioned, once she got her breath back. 

“It’s private.” He shifted in his seat, glancing away from her for a moment. “Look, just call her and let me speak to her.”

“Not until we’re off of Taris at least,” Winter hedged. “I won’t make a call like that if there’s any chance the imperials are tracking it, not when they know we were on Taris.” 

Luke huffed but nodded his agreement. 

“How do you know my sister?” she asked then. 

“Does it matter?” he asked sullenly. 

“Yes,” Dune cut in. “It matters. So far, you’ve given us zero reason to trust you with any information at all, let alone a direct line to Princess Leia.” 

His eyes hardened at that. 

“What about you?” he retorted. “I haven’t even gotten a name from you. You shot at me before I could even speak to you. Why should I tell you anything?” 

“I shot at you,” Dune responded, temper clearly flaring up, “because you came running at us, yelling, out of nowhere.” 

He winced. “Look, I thought Winter was Leia,” he responded. “And I really didn’t want to lose her after all the trouble I’ve gone to find her in the first place.” 

He looked at the game table for a moment then back at them with a serious face. 

“I met Leia on Coruscant,” he told them finally. “And gave her some information vital to the Rebellion. She’ll be able to confirm my story if you just let me talk to her.” 

“I said I would call her,” Winter snapped. “And I will. She should know that we ran into trouble anyway. But not until we’re out of the Taris system.” 

“Where are we going?” Luke asked then. “I don’t recognize the coordinates you gave Han.” 

“Just a rendezvous point." Winter shrugged a shoulder casually, not willing to discuss any further details of the rebellion until she could speak with her sister and maybe someone at high command. Clearly sensing her unwillingness to talk about anything else important, Luke didn’t press for more information. All three of them fell into a somewhat uncomfortable silence, the low rumble of the engines the only real sound for a long while. 

Only when Captain Solo returned to tell them they’d jumped away did they move from their seats. 

“Captain,” Winter addressed the man. “I need to make a long range transmission. Do you have a relay set up on this ship?” 

Luke perked up at that, coming to stand at her side with interest, Lieutenant Dune fast on his heels with a disgruntled look on her face. 

“Uh, sure.” Solo ran a hand through his hair, then turned away to yell, “Chewie! You fixed the long range relay, right?”

A pause and then the response came in a rumble from the cockpit. 

“Of course you did,” Han muttered to himself, rolling his eyes. “All right, come on, it’s back here.”

With that, he led them into what looked like a storage room filled with boxes, a set of shut lockers, and bits of tech haphazardly thrown about. With a grunt, he started shoving boxes aside and pulled out a device that could loosely be described as a transceiver. It looked ancient, had wires spilling out of it, and was connected with a large cord directly to the wall. Solo set it atop a metal crate and started messing around with some of the wires, muttering to himself while he did so. 

“Are you sure that thing still works?” Luke asked suspiciously, moving forward to get a better look. “Or that it’s secure? At all?” 

Solo huffed. “Look, do you want to make that comm call or not?” he asked. “This is what we’ve got. And yeah, it’s plenty secure. Did you forget the blockade I got you through? I know what I’m doing!” 

Luke still didn’t look convinced and Winter knew she wasn’t, but she was at least confident that her Alliance-provided encryptions would add a decent level of security. Nothing that would convince her to say anything classified on the call, but enough that she was willing to make it. 

“Add this, please,” she said once the whole apparatus looked like it was just about set up. She handed over the data chip with the encryption code that would scramble the transmission for anyone trying to tap into their frequency without the right key. 

Inserting the chip into one of the slots on the front of the box, Han turned a dial and hummed to himself. Then, with a final smack to the side of the machine, he announced, “It should be good to go!” 

Luke looked pained at the sight of it, but perhaps wisely chose to keep his own council, rather than pick another fight with the captain. 

Winter thanked him as politely as she could and then said, “Now, may I please have some privacy for this call?” 

Solo shrugged and made to leave without any debate, but neither Dune nor Luke moved. 

“Lieutenant,” Winter addressed her guard. “I understand that you have been tasked with my safety, but I trust that I can take care of myself for a few minutes. Would you please excuse us?” 

Dune scowled. “I don’t trust him." She didn't bother to lower her voice in front of the man in question. 

“I simply need you to trust me." She gave a small smile. “This won’t take long and I’ll yell if I need you.” 

Another pause, then a sharp node. Then Dune looked at Luke and said, “If you touch a hair on her head, I’ll show you just how pacifistic we Alderaanians are.”

His brows shot up, but he didn’t respond to that before she turned on her heel and left the room. Only once they were alone did he speak again. 

“Your people are very loyal to you and your family,” he commented, not giving any indication of whether he thought that was a good thing or not. 

She studied his face for a moment, not sure what to say to that, and then decided to focus on the matter at hand. It was easy enough to remember the frequency she needed to reach Leia, then it was simply a matter of waiting for her sister to respond. She had no idea what time it was wherever Leia was, but this was a line her sister would surely answer regardless. 

The hologram that lit up was distorted by the ancient projector they had, but it didn’t matter that much. All that came up was the Alderaanian royal crest. She smiled at the sight. 

A distorted voice from the other end spoke, “When the moon is mirrorbright, take this time to remember.” 

“Those you have loved but are gone,” Winter responded. “Those who kept you so safe and warm.” 

She could feel Luke’s eyes on her as she spoke, but didn’t look at him. 

“Winter,” came the distorted voice again. Then, the floating crest of their family dissolved and Leia’s form from the shoulders up, appeared. She was smiling, a look of relief on her face from getting the all clear response from Winter. Winter inspected the machine and then turned on the holorecorder on their end as well. As soon as she did, Leia’s face turned serious. 

“Skywalker.” Her voice was flat and hard as she focused on Luke. “What are you doing with my sister? And where is your companion, Winter?” 

“Lieutenant Dune is here, ready to step in if need be,” Winter answered, eyes flicking to the man next to her. She hadn’t quite expected that level of disdain in her sister’s voice, but she was quickly reevaluating him, wondering if she’d misjudged his intentions. She gestured toward him. “He’s been looking for you. He told me that you would be able to confirm that he has helped the rebellion in the past.” 

Leia paused, then looked over her shoulder at something that wasn’t visible on the projector. 

“Yes." She sounded quite reluctant to admit that as her hard gaze turned toward Skywalker. “He also participated in the Battle for Alderaan. With Black Squadron.” 

Winter couldn’t help the halting step she took away from him when he dipped his head in agreement. 

“I did,” he confirmed easily. “I was on orders to be there. But I’m certain you can attest to the fact that I never fired on you directly.” 

Leia’s eyes flashed and the image flickered. “No,” she snarled, “You just fired on my friends and allies.” 

“What did you expect?” He snapped then, finally losing just a little of his calm composure. “I couldn’t exactly do nothing—”

“That is exactly what you should have done!” Leia snapped. “If you wanted to help—”

“You wouldn’t have even known about the weapon if I hadn’t warned you!” He argued. “I gave you everything you needed to succeed and I risked everything to do it. You can’t honestly have expected more.”

“From an imperial?” Leia asked, turning her nose up disdainfully. “I suppose not.” 

He narrowed his eyes at her and opened his mouth, but Winter interrupted, “I’m certain you didn’t run me down in the streets in order to argue with my sister. What did you want to speak with Leia about?” 

“Run you down in the streets—?” Leia started, but Winter held up a hand to forestall another argument. 

Skywalker looked distinctly ruffled, but apparently decided not to debate the point. “It’s not something that I can say over a transmission,” he said. “But it is vitally important that I speak to you. Your life is in danger.” 

“Yes, I noticed.” Leia rolled her eyes. “Something about having the largest bounty in imperial history on my head has clued me into the fact.” 

Grimacing, Skywalker said, “There’s more. But I cannot say it over a long range frequency.” 

“This sounds an awful lot like you trying to lure me in to capture me for yourself,” Leia stated flatly. 

Lips thin, Skywalker took a long moment to answer. Then, he straightened his back and steeled his jaw before saying, “You owe me. I risked a lot to see those plans fall into your hands and I’ve now given up even more to be here. Isn’t your whole rebellion built on fairness? Meet with me and I’ll call us even.” 

“Don’t presume to understand what’s fair, Lieutenant,” Leia snapped. 

He shrugged. “I doubt I’m an officer anymore.” His voice was overly casual now, almost dreamlike, though his eyes remained just as sharp. “I would have thought that would please you.” 

“So you claim to have defected then?” Leia folded her arms across her chest, raising a brow. 

“I claim to have left my post against orders,” he answered. “Will you meet with me? I merely wish to talk. I swear on my honor that I mean you no harm.” 

“What does your honor mean to me?” Leia asked. “I don’t know anything about what you consider honorable.” 

“What would you like me to swear upon then?” He returned, brows raised. “The emperor? My mother’s grave? I will, if that will satisfy you.” 

“It won’t." 

They watched each other in silence for a long moment before Leia took a deep breath and smoothed her features out into something slightly less hostile. 

“Leia,” Winter cut in with an even tone. “We are en route to Rendezvous Point Besh. We can wait there for two days, give you time to discuss with High Command and decide whether you want to meet with Commander Skywalker. If you decide not to, I will personally see to it that he is dropped off somewhere far away from anywhere important.” 

“That is unacceptable—” Skywalker started, only to fall silent when Leia held up a hand. 

“That is a good plan,” Leia said. “I agree. But I want a status update from you or Lieutenant Dune every six hours.” 

Winter nodded. “I look forward to seeing you again.” 

Leia’s eyes softened. 

“And I you,” her sister responded. Her eyes flicked back to Skywalker for a moment, then the transmission ended. Grabbing her datachip out of the machine, she whirled on Skywalker. 

She jabbed a finger at him in accusation. “You didn’t say you were an imperial officer." 

“I never said I wasn’t.” He put his hands up in defense, but didn’t look as affected as she thought he should be at the words. “And you didn’t ask.” 

“Did you call those stormtroopers on us?” she demanded, stepping in closer to study his face as he answered. With no hesitation, he shook his head. 

“No.” He sounded honest, but would she be able to tell? He could simply be a good liar. “But the only reason I knew you were there was because of a sighting report. A holorecorder picked up an image of you and your guard. It was the clearest image we’ve had of you or your sister this whole time. I might even ask if you’d let it happen.”

She pursed her lips. No, she hadn’t specifically meant to be seen there, not until she was ready to leave. If what he was saying was true, she needed to be more careful. She decided not to comment on that.

“What do you really want with my sister?” 

“Nothing I’ll share with you,” he answered shortly. 

“If you are planning to betray her, I swear—”

“I’m not,” he asserted. “I have my reasons—and they are my own—but I am trying to protect her.” 

“I don’t know how you expect me to believe you,” she told him. He frowned at her, as if confused by her words. 

“I don’t care if you believe me,” he said. “I only care about Leia.” 

Winter jerked back. “Are you… in love with her?” 

It would make sense why he seemed so intensely focused on Leia specifically, except his face filled with revulsion as soon as the words were out of her mouth. 

“No!” he denied. “Absolutely not. Why would you think that, of all things?” 

She opened her mouth to explain, but he waved a hand in the air as if to brush the conversation aside.

“Nevermind that. Stop asking me questions. I will only discuss this with Leia.” 

“If Leia agrees to meet with you,” Winter said. Clearly irritated, he let out a huff. 

“If Leia agrees to meet with me,” he agreed grimly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, I'm really excited to have figured out a way to include Senator Pamlo in this. She has more or less just a cameo in Rogue One, but I loved her look and was intrigued by her in general. I actually ended up cutting a few hundred words out of this that a) didn't add anything, and b) really made it seem like Winter was in love with Pamlo. Honestly, I think it still comes across a little bit like she has a crush and you know what? Good for her. Though Senator Pamlo is like at least 20 years older than her and, honestly, probably doesn't even notice Winter's crush haha.


	11. Rendezvous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, hello there. Guess who forgot to post yesterday. Whoops!

“We can’t leave Winter with him,” Leia insisted, putting a hand palm down on the table in the center of the room. None of the assembled members of rebel High Command looked surprised at her vehemence, but then they had already been discussing this for far too long. 

“You said yourself that she gave the all clear.” Mon Mothma spoke calmly from where she stood directly across from Leia. “She doesn’t feel that she is in any danger.” 

“That doesn’t mean she’s safe,” Leia said. “We all know that Skywalker is dangerous and that he has been hunting me since the Death Star. I won’t leave my sister with him.” 

“So you’ll walk right into his trap?” asked Madine, one brow pushed low as he looked at Leia from his spot to Mon’s right. 

“We do not know that there is any trap here,” Obi-Wan put in, stroking fingers over his newly grown in beard. Leia turned to face him where he stood to her left. “He said himself that he defected. He certainly wouldn’t be the first defector we have taken in, not even in this room.” 

As if to make his point, he slowly made eye contact with several of the members at the table, including Madine. The general stiffened at the stare, but kept silent at the implication.

“He didn’t actually say he was defecting,” Leia pointed out. “In fact, he seemed to disagree with me when I asked if he was.” 

Obi-Wan waived a hand dismissively. “We all know that leaving your post and disobeying orders is enough to be considered a traitor to the Empire."

“It doesn’t matter,” Madine, from Obi-Wan’s other side, cut in, “so long as he thinks he can get back in the Empire’s good graces by bringing in the princess.” 

“He could also simply be lying,” Leia added. 

“Why provide us with the plans to the Death Star then?” her father asked, speaking for the first time since all of the members of High Command present on the base had come together to discuss this. 

“We have reason to believe that Skywalker is directly connected to both Darth Vader and the Emperor. And there have been rumors of disagreement among those at the highest levels,” Draven said. “Perhaps this was some sort of political maneuvering.” 

“Are you suggesting that Vader and Palpatine are—are fighting?” Dodonna demanded, leaning around Mon Mothma to get a better look at Draven. He sounded as if he found the very idea ridiculous to even consider, but Leia noted that several of the others looked like they were considering it. 

“It is the way of the Sith,” Obi-Wan said, his tone thoughtful as he tucked his hands into the large sleeves of his gray robe. “The apprentice eventually turns on the master. It could be that Vader is finally making his move.” 

“You think it would be this subtle?” Mama asked, leaning forward to speak around Leia as she addressed him. She raised a delicate brow at her friend. “I would have thought that a betrayal from Darth Vader would be much more dramatic.” 

Obi-Wan's face was carefully blank as he dipped his head at her point. “Perhaps." 

“We need to focus on the matter at hand if we are to make a decision before Princess Winter’s proposed meeting time has passed,” Mon Mothma said then, looking around at everyone. “Should Princess Leia go to this meeting or not?” 

“Absolutely not,” Dodonna answered, barely waiting for Mon to finish speaking. “It’s bad enough that Princess Winter is already with him.” 

“Cara Dune is with her,” Draven pointed out, his voice considering in a way that made Leia nervous. “You helped train her yourself, Jan. She’s perfectly capable of protecting the princess if Skywalker is dangerous.”

“I have every faith in Cara, but she’s still new to the fight,” Dodonna responded. “Can we really afford to throw Princess Leia at him as well?”

“Can we afford not to?” Draven returned. “I’m surprised you’re not more interested in him as an asset. Can we truly turn down such a potentially high level source?”

“You just told us that he has ties to both Vader and the emperor,” Dodonna argued, “How could we ever trust his loyalties?” 

“We have other agents with high level imperial ties,” Papa said. 

“Who have proven their loyalty,” Dodonna retorted. “What has this boy done? He has provided us with information that was valuable, yes. But we know now that not everyone in the Empire agreed with the existence of the Death Star. Since then, he has personally killed several of our pilots in battle and led the search for Princess Leia. Now he claims he’s disobeyed orders to find her? We would be foolish to take this at face value.”

“General Dodonna is right,” Leia agreed, “which is exactly why I can’t leave my sister to defend herself against him. We’ve seen what he’s capable of, regardless of one good deed, which was something anyone with a conscience should have done.” 

“And yet Luke Skywalker was the one who did it,” Obi-Wan said. “I’m certain he wasn’t the only person who had access to those plans or the ability to sneak them to someone who could do something with them. And we know that a choice like this could have come at great personal cost to him.” 

“I agree with Master Kenobi,” Mama said, nodding her head. “We should give him a chance.” 

“And you want to put your daughter on the line to do that?” Dodonna asked. 

“No, certainly not,” she said. “But we can send someone else to collect him.” 

“It’s too dangerous,” Leia disagreed. “If Winter isn’t as safe as we think, if he’s holding her hostage somehow, then we risk her life by sending someone else. I should go. You can send whoever you want with me, but I should go.” 

“If he’s as much of a danger as you think he is,” Mama responded, her voice tight but still even as she met her daughter's eyes, “then I cannot allow you to put yourself in danger alongside your sister.”

“I can go with her,” Obi-Wan said. Everyone in the room turned their eyes on him then, surprise evident in the air. 

“She would certainly be safer with a Jedi at her side,” Dodonna commented, looking pleased at this idea. 

Draven narrowed his eyes. “You’ve never volunteered to go into the field before,” he said.

“My mission has always been to teach and protect Princess Leia,” Obi-Wan told him coolly. 

“And this has nothing to do with Luke Skywalker’s connection to Anakin Skywalker?” Draven asked, his voice light despite the sharp eyes he turned on Obi-Wan. 

Whatever response he was hoping to get, the only sign that Obi-Wan gave that he was affected by the words was the tight skin around his eyes. 

“Protecting Leia is my top priority,” Obi-Wan asserted. Then he tilted his head down and to the side in concession and added, “If we can also bring Luke Skywalker into the fold, all the better.” 

Before anyone else could pick at her teacher, Leia said, “That’s what we will do then. Obi-Wan will accompany me to the rendezvous point. We will ensure Winter’s safety, find out what Skywalker wants, and consider taking him to a safe location to bring him in.” 

The room was quiet for a moment, then Mon Mothma spoke. 

“It sounds like we have a plan,” she said. Then, “All in favor of Master Kenobi and Princess Leia going forward with the plan to meet with Commander Skywalker?” 

“Aye,” said Draven after barely a moment’s pause to consider. 

“Aye,” said Papa. Leia turned to look at him in surprise, but whatever he felt about the subject, he wasn’t showing on his face. A moment later, her mother agreed as well, followed by Mon and a reluctant-faced Madine. 

Dodonna looked around the room and sighed. “It appears I have been outvoted,” he commented. “I still think this is a foolhardy plan, but I will stand by the rest of you.” 

Neither Obi-Wan, nor Leia were technically part of the council, so with that, the plan was decided. 

“I didn’t think you two would agree to let me go,” Leia said quietly, after the meeting had concluded. Only she, her parents, and Obi-Wan remained in the meeting room after they had finished discussing the details. She and Obi-Wan would need to prepare to leave immediately, but Leia thought they had time to have a private farewell at least. 

Before her mother said anything, she was pulling Leia into a hug, quickly followed by her father joining. 

“Oh, Leia,” Mama said, pulling back after a moment. “I know we’ve been protective, but we trust you and your sister more than anyone.” 

“Your mother is right." Her father's eyes looked a little watery as he squeezed her hand. “There’s nothing you can’t deal with, and we know that. We’ve always known that.” 

“Oh,” was all Leia could say with her throat as tight as it was. She brought her hands to her eyes and carefully patted at them to keep her makeup from running when she felt the start of tears. 

“I love you both." 

“And we love you,” Papa responded, squeezing her shoulder before stepping back. 

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Obi-Wan said then, reminding Leia that he was still in the room with them, “but we need to get going if we’re to make the rendezvous before they leave.” 

“Yes, of course." Leia looked back at her parents one last time. “I’ll bring Winter back safely.” 

“We know you will.” Her mother’s eyes looked suspiciously bright as she smiled. “And when you do, we’ll all have a talk, as a family.”

Brows pulling together, Leia opened her mouth to ask what she wanted to talk about, but Obi-Wan had already laid a hand on her shoulder. 

“Leia,” he said gently. “We need to go.” 

Grimacing, she nodded and turned away from her parents. 

“Leia, Obi-Wan,” Papa called after them. Then, for what Leia realized might be the first time she could recall him saying it louder than a whisper, he said, “May the force be with you.”

Obi-Wan didn’t stop, but he did smile over his shoulder at the words. 

“And with you as well.” 

\--

“Do you honestly think we can trust him?” Leia found herself asking as they closed in on the rendezvous point a little over a standard day later. Obi-Wan hadn’t outright said it, but she knew he wanted Skywalker to join them badly. She just wished she could understand better what his reasoning was. 

She knew that his first apprentice, before her, had been Anakin Skywalker, though he never told her that much about him. Sometimes, when they were in private, he would share stories with her, but she knew her parents disapproved of such stories. She thought, perhaps, they didn’t want him glorifying war for her, which was ridiculous, but she didn’t push it because she could tell that the stories also made Obi-Wan sad. 

However Anakin’s son had ended up in imperial custody was also a mystery to her. She had to wonder if Obi-Wan didn’t somehow blame himself for it, even though she knew for a fact that in those final days of the Republic, he had saved her and her birth mother. How he could have done that and also saved his old apprentice and child? But then, Leia was starting to learn that regret and self-recrimination didn’t always follow clean lines of logic. 

Perhaps he thought that if he could save Anakin’s son now, he could make up for the fact that he hadn’t been able to save him earlier. It made sense, even if Leia found the idea doubtful. There were imperial defectors in their ranks, but very few had such high level connections and none of them were force sensitive. Skywalker hadn’t felt like a sith or even like an inquisitor, but she couldn’t imagine that the emperor would have neglected to use a force adept as strong as him. It just didn’t make sense. 

“I think we can certainly give him a chance." Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows at her as if he could tell exactly what she was thinking, though perhaps she was just a little less subtle about her skepticism than she had meant to be. 

“Just.” Leia hesitated, then lay a hand on his shoulder. “Just be careful.” 

Smiling wryly at her, he responded, “When am I not careful?” 

Leia raised a brow at that, but he just smiled at her until she let out a soft laugh. Grinning despite herself, she had R2D2 begin the landing sequence to bring them down on the large asteroid that was Rendezvous Point Besh. It had been an old republic outpost that was abandoned some time during the Clone Wars and it was by a stroke of luck that the alliance had been able to get a hold of it. Even more lucky was the fact that the asteroid had an atmo generator that still functioned.

These days, they mostly used it as a rendezvous point for the fleet and some supply drop offs and pickups, but it worked well for meetings like this too. It wouldn’t be such a terrible sacrifice if they lost it to the imperials, if this went poorly, but in the meantime, it was secure and remote. 

Through the viewport of the small shuttle she and Obi-Wan had flown in on, she could see that they weren’t the first to arrive. Not a surprise, since Winter had likely been much closer to this place on Taris than they were on Yavin IV, but it wasn’t Leia’s ideal scenario to arrive after potential enemies. The ship waiting for them was an old Corellian freighter that looked like it had seen better days, the ramp down as if ready to greet them as soon as they arrived. As Leia brought their little shuttle down, figures were already coming down the ramp. 

“Obi-Wan.” Leia stopped her teacher, just before they lowered their own ramp. “Please don’t forget that we don’t know anything about him, not really.” 

She didn’t need to clarify to whom she was referring. Obi-Wan pursed his lips in clear irritation, but then he nodded in agreement. 

“I will keep it in mind.” The corner of his lips quirked up. “And while I have you to watch out for me, I’m certain I’ll be safe.” 

With that, the ramp began to lower. Leia checked that her lightsaber, no longer hidden away now that she was the galaxy’s most wanted anyway, was securely clipped to her belt. Then she patted a hand over her braids, smoothed out her skirt, and started the walk down to the asteroid’s surface. 

It was an odd trio assembled outside. There was her sister, looking calm and elegant as ever in a shimmery, Tarisian style dress with the loose head covering common in those parts still partially covering her dyed hair. Beside her was Cara Dune, looking every bit the protective guard she was playing for this mission, a grim look on her face and a hand resting on the blaster she had holstered at her hip. On Dune's other side stood Luke Skywalker, looking as straight-backed and as unflappable as he had back on Alderaan. 

Other than the posture though, Skywalker looked quite different than he had the last time she’d seen him. She imagined that with her own clothes chosen more to allow ease of movement rather than for looks, she looked different as well, but seeing him out of uniform was strangely jarring. He appeared almost casual in an olive green shirt with pockets down the front, tucked loosely into black, high waisted pants. She imagined he’d fit in easily in any dive bar or cantina he cared to visit if he just dropped the good posture, which was an unnerving thought.

“Lieutenant Skywalker,” she greeted coolly, saving greetings with her sister for later. 

“Special Agent Skywalker, actually,” he corrected her, a crooked smile on his lips that made him look far too approachable. He lifted a shoulder in a casual shrug. “I apologize for the deception. Though I imagine by now I’m not anything anymore.”

Then his eyes flicked toward Obi-Wan and his brows pushed just slightly down. 

“And, ah, Ben, was it?” He held out a hand to shake, which Obi-Wan didn’t hesitate to take, a serene smile on his face. 

“You remember me,” he said as they dropped their hands. 

“Of course." Skywalker shrugged. “How could I forget meeting a Jedi such as yourself?” 

Obi-Wan’s smile widened at the same time Leia noticed Winter’s eyes going wide and her lips parting in surprise. 

“You knew what I was but said nothing?” Obi-Wan asked. 

“I didn’t know for certain,” Skywalker admitted brightly. “But thank you for the confirmation. And such a report would have been more hassle than it was worth, besides which, we all know it would have disrupted your ability to carry out the destruction of the Death Star.” 

He turned a more serious expression on Leia, meeting her eyes directly. 

“The same reason I didn’t report you." He lowered his voice and stepped in closer. “But, Leia, the emperor knows about you now.” 

Leia did her best to ignore the spike of fear that sent through her, the way it felt like ice being plunged down her back, even as she felt everyone around them tense. Before she could think of a response to that, maybe something blasé about the fact that the emperor already knew about her, two more figures came down the ramp of the Corellian ship. Leia turned to look at them suspiciously, wondering if there was some trick here, but they most certainly weren’t imperials. 

One was a human man with light brown hair, dressed in a dirty-looking shirt and Corellian blood stripes that had Leia raising a brow, while the other was a well-armed, brown-furred wookie. The wookie, joining them where they stood between the two ships, roared something to his companion. Leia was far from fluent in Shyriiwook, but she knew enough to recognize an insult when she heard one. 

“Excuse me,” she said loudly, looking up—and up and up—to meet the wookie’s eyes. As she did, the being widened their eyes in surprise, then let out a bark to ask if she spoke the language. 

“I spent some time on Kashyyyk,” she answered. At that, both the wookie and the human stiffened. Realizing what they probably assumed she had been doing there, she clarified, “As a hostage. I’m not fluent by any means, but I would appreciate some basic courtesy.” 

An apology and then he introduced himself with a bark that his human friend, looking at her consideringly, translated to Basic as, “Chewbacca.” 

“I’m Princess Leia Organa,” she introduced herself, nodding her head respectfully toward him. 

“And I’m Han Solo.” The thoughtful look he had given her before was quickly replaced with a leer as he leaned against one of the ramp’s support beams. He gestured back toward the run down ship behind him and leaned in toward her, “Captain of the Millenium Falcon.” 

“It’s truly spaceworthy?” she asked, irritably stepping away from where he had infringed on her personal space. 

Solo scowled at that, folding his arms across his chest defensively. “That ship is the fastest ship anywhere in the outer rim and she made it through an imperial blockade this week alone!” 

Leia raised a skeptical brow at him. “I’m sure,” she said shortly. Ignoring his narrowed eyes, she turned back toward Skywalker, “Now, I believe you had something you were desperate to say to me?” 

“Hey, hey,” Solo interrupted before Skywalker could answer. “I’ve been promised payment twice now and still haven’t gotten it.” 

“If money is all you love, then that’s what you’ll receive,” Leia snapped. “But I came here to talk to him—” she jabbed a finger at Skywalker “—and may yet have need of your services. So I would appreciate it if you would wait.” 

“Listen, sister—” Han stepping back into her space and pointing a finger in her face—“I’m here for a job, but you sure as hell ain’t my boss.” 

“Oh, so you’re not interested in another job then?” she scoffed disbelievingly. He glared at her for a moment, then straightened up from where he’d leaned down to get closer to her face. Leia, realizing how close they were took another step back.

“Depends on the job and whether anyone here is actually gonna shell out,” he replied, his voice light with faux nonchalance. 

Leia let out a frustrated sound. “How much do we owe you?” she asked tightly, ready to be done with this whole discussion. 

“At least ten grand at this point,” he answered, glancing back at his passengers.

“Ten thousand credits?” Leia repeated incredulously. “You can’t possibly think I’m carrying that much on me. Or that I would pay that much for a basic flight from Taris!” 

“Hey, that includes running the blockade on Alderaan and evading imperials over Taris again,” Solo defended himself. “Plus interest after the kid tried to welch on me.” 

“I wasn’t trying to welch on you!” Skywalker interrupted, sounding as if this wasn’t the first time he’d had to say it. “I didn’t know my credit line would get cut so fast.” 

Solo shot him a dirty look but didn’t respond to him directly. 

“Captain Solo,” Obi-Wan cut in, stepping forward and gently steering the man away with a hand on his elbow. “Why don’t you and I discuss your payment and let the princess and Mr. Skywalker talk.”

Solo continued to grumble, but allowed himself to be directed back into his ship. Leia looked at Winter and opened her mouth to ask her to give them privacy as well, but Winter was already placing a hand on her guard’s arm and moving away. 

“Why don’t we talk on my ship,” Leia suggested, turning to lead Skywalker back up the ramp. They walked in silence, settling in the small lounge area directly behind the cockpit. There was a small table with bench seating around it where they sat, Skywalker choosing to sit next to her rather than across the table. 

“Now, what is it that you were so desperate to talk to me about?” She found that, despite her mistrust, she was honestly curious to hear what he had to say. It did seem as if he’d gone through quite a bit just to get an audience with her and she had to wonder why, if not simply to capture her for the Empire. 

Skywalker looked away and said nothing for a long moment, just breathing as if he needed to work up to whatever he was about to say. Then, he finally looked at her. His eyes were wide and earnest and he leaned just slightly forward as he spoke. 

“What do you remember of your mother?” he asked then. “Your real mother, I mean.” 

“My real mother?" Leia leaned back in her seat, tilted her head to look down her nose at him. "My real mother, as you say, is Queen Breha of Alderaan.” 

He shook his head. “No, I mean your biological mother,” he clarified, not seeming to notice Leia’s rising temper. He looked down then. “I don’t remember mine.” 

“Why are you asking me about this?” Leia demanded, starting to wonder if this had been a waste of a trip. 

“I don’t know the circumstances surrounding my birth very well.” He laid his hands down flat on the tabletop. “All I know is that my parents were betrayed by the Jedi. My father was attacked and critically injured by a Jedi and my mother was murdered shortly after she gave birth.” 

Leia’s breath caught in her throat. She didn’t feel any threat from him, but she couldn’t imagine why he was telling her this if not because he was here looking for revenge. He’d admitted to knowing that she and Obi-Wan were Jedi. Was that why he had sought her out? Did he want to kill them personally for what happened to his parents? 

Moving her hand over her lightsaber as subtly as she could, she asked, “Your father was a Jedi himself, wasn’t he?” 

Skywalker nodded, meeting her eyes with an intensity she hadn’t expected from him. 

“He was,” he confirmed. “But he’s not anymore.”

Leia breathed in sharply. “Anakin Skywalker is still alive?” She asked, her mind already flying in several directions at the idea. If Obi-Wan’s old apprentice still lived, he must be in hiding. Or, considering where his son had ended up, maybe it was worse than that. Maybe he was a prisoner of the Empire. 

“He goes by a different name now." He lowered his voice a small amount and leaning a little closer to her, as if to tell her a secret. “One given to him by the emperor on the day he renounced the Jedi.”

Not a prisoner, she realized, horror rising in her as she connected the dots. 

“Your father is—?” She couldn’t make herself say it. 

“Darth Vader,” he finished for her with a short nod, looking for all the galaxy as if he hadn’t just admitted to being the child of a monster. Leia found herself leaning further away from him as she processed that, then wondered why he was telling her this. This was almost certainly a secret. She had never heard anything about Vader having a son or, in fact, any sort of personal life. The Dark Lord seemed to be nothing so much as the emperor’s shadow, sent to do his dirty work throughout the galaxy. 

“I don’t understand why you’re telling me this." She swallowed thickly, fingering the button on her saber warily. 

“It’s important for you to understand.” He sighed, his eyes flicking down before coming back up to meet hers again. “When I met you in the Senate, when I was on Alderaan, I didn’t know the whole truth. I still don’t understand all of it.”

Leia frowned. “About your father?”

“No,” he answered, shaking his head impatiently. “No, about you. I felt that you were force sensitive on Alderaan, but even then I didn’t make the connection. It wasn’t until the emperor asked me to lead the search for you—”

“The emperor what?” Leia gasped, unclipping the lightsaber from her belt and starting to stand from her seat. “You were sent here by the emperor personally? Is this a trap?”

“No!” He threw his hands forward as if to placate her. “No, it’s not a trap. Please, just. Just listen. I’m trying to say this the right way. I haven’t told almost anyone yet. I don’t know how to say it.” 

Hand still holding her saber, Leia sat back down. “Get to your point then,” she ordered him. 

He nodded, but it was another few seconds before he spoke again. 

“I don’t have any experience finding people like that,” he told her. “That’s never been my job, so I didn’t understand why His Majesty would ask me to lead the search. But now I think he must have foreseen that I would make a discovery.” 

He paused again and Leia was just about done with waiting for him to get to the point when he said, “Leia, I don’t know what happened the day we were born or how it’s possible, but my mother didn’t give birth to one child before she was killed. There were two. Twins. Me… and you.” 

Leia stared at him, waiting for him to start making sense, but he simply met her gaze and waited for her to speak. 

“What?” She asked at last, certain she must have misunderstood. 

“You’re my sister, Leia,” he said patiently. 

“That’s impossible.” She was moving away from him before she realized what she was doing, scooting herself out of the bench seat. She needed to be standing, she needed to not be at this table with him. Ungracefully, she pushed herself off the bench and stepped away from the table, away from him. 

“Search your feelings,” Skywalker said, still sitting at the table behind her. “You know it to be true.” 

He sounded like Obi-Wan, she thought. Then she shook her head and considered the idea that he was telling the truth. Something in the Force seemed to ring with the truth of it as soon as she thought about it for a moment. 

Whirling around to face Skywalker again, she demanded, “Why are you telling me this? What do you want?”

“Want?” He frowned at her. “I don’t want anything from you, except to be your family.” Then he grimaced. “And to protect you… Leia, the emperor knows.” 

“Did you tell him?” Her hand tightly clenched around the hilt of her lightsaber. 

“No." As soon as the word had crossed his lips, he looked away again for just a moment. When he turned his face back to her, he had a grimace tugging at his lips. “Not intentionally. I only meant to tell our Father, but the emperor intercepted the transmission. I swear to you I didn’t mean for him to find out yet.” 

“But you did!” Leia jabbed a finger at him in accusation. She clipped her saber back to her belt, knowing that if she kept it in her hands, she was far too liable to use it at the moment. “You told the emperor all about me. You’re the one who told him I’m force sensitive and that I was the pilot, too, didn’t you? And you want to be my family?” 

Skywalker pressed his lips together in clear displeasure, then shook his head and widened his eyes at her. 

“You’ve met His Majesty, haven’t you?” 

She nodded, a small shiver running down her spine at the memory. She had only met him properly the one time, when she was presented as the new senator from Alderaan, but it had been more than enough. Knowing that he was a Sith master did little to prepare her for how it would feel to be in his presence, surrounded by the Dark Side while trying to hide her own presence in the Force. 

“Then you must have some idea of how difficult it is to keep anything from him,” Skywalker said, his tone insistent. 

“I managed to hide a great many things from him, actually.”

“Like what? That you’re a rebel?” His brows raised as he narrowed his eyes at her in a mocking expression. “You can’t possibly think he was unaware. Why do you think I was sent to Alderaan? Why do you think Alderaan was the Death Star’s first target?” 

“Are you—are you saying it’s my fault the emperor attempted to destroy my entire planet?” She could feel her ears and cheeks heat up with anger. 

Skywalker’s face went blank and he paused for a moment, likely measuring his words carefully before speaking. 

“You do think that, don’t you?” She gasped, curling her lips in disgust. “What is wrong with you?” 

“I helped you destroy the weapon, did I not?” His eyes flashed with his temper before he reigned himself in again. “And I never said Alderaan deserved to be destroyed. My recommendation to the emperor was a standard restructuring and occupation.” 

Leia glared at him. “You told him to occupy my homeworld?” 

His lips thinned in irritation. “I was trying to forestall any worse options—the Death Star comes to mind.” 

“I just don’t understand." She shook her head, sitting back down at the table across from him. Her brother. She winced at the thought and folded her hands on the table to keep herself from just going for her saber again. “You don’t sound like you want to join the rebellion. Aside from the Death Star, you seem to be fully in support of the Empire. So why are you here?” 

He frowned at her. 

“You’re my sister.” He spoke slowly and evenly, as if doing so would make his words mean something. “I couldn’t just leave you unprotected once I knew.” 

“I’m hardly unprotected,” she responded. “And I will not be going back to the Empire with you, if that’s what you think.” 

“I don’t think you understand what it means to be hunted by the emperor personally,” he said lowly. 

“I understand plenty.” She scowled. “I’m not some naïve child. I know that I may die fighting for what’s right, but I won’t let that stop me. And none of this is news, nor does it explain why you think you can protect me so much better than I’m already being protected.” 

“Well, the emperor doesn’t necessarily want you dead, first of all,” he told her calmly, as if that wasn’t news at all. “And it’s not just him anymore. He’s asked our father to find you and, well, Father would never hurt me. He would never hurt family—he just needs to see that you’re family, too.” 

“He’s not my family,” she snapped. “And neither are you.” 

“Yes, we are." He leaned forward across the table and reaching for her hands. She pulled her arms away from him, placing her hands beneath the table as he watched with a strange expression on his face. It almost seemed as if he was hurt and his voice turned pleading as he continued.

“We share the same blood, Leia. We shared the same womb, too.” 

“Stop it." She was starting to feel like the space around her was getting smaller with every word he spoke, a trap quickly closing in around her. “Just—stop it! My family raised me. They love me and care for me and they’re now refugees, exiled from their home because of what you and your father have done.” 

“Only because you were stolen from us,” he snarled, balling his hands into fists on the table. “We should have been raised together, as a family. You would have been protected from all of this, you would never have had to run from the Empire! But instead the Jedi took you from your family and gave you to rebels.” 

“Probably so that I wouldn’t end up as a brainwashed imperial like you!” 

“I’m not brainwashed!” He matched her loud volume as he argued back, then took a deep breath and lowered his voice to continue. “If anything, you’re the one who was brainwashed—you risk your life fighting an impossible power, following a dead religion, all for what? Because the Jedi wanted to make you a weapon against your own father.”

Leia felt like the air had turned suddenly colder, such that it hurt her throat when she inhaled sharply. 

“That’s not true." She lowered her voice now as she tried to keep herself from shaking apart, while considering his words and the conviction he put behind them. “That’s not true.” 

Luke looked downright sympathetic and he uncurled his fists, laying his hands out on the table with his palms up. He opened his mouth to respond, but whatever he was about to say was interrupted when Obi-Wan suddenly raced into the lounge. He had his lightsaber already drawn, his hair in a disarray from running. 

“Obi-Wan?” She asked, alarmed. Skywalker had leapt to his feet at Obi-Wan’s sudden appearance and looked ready for an attack. What he thought he would achieve unarmed against a lightsaber, Leia couldn’t say, but he relaxed somewhat when Obi-Wan lowered his saber. 

“Leia, you’re all right?” Her teacher eyed her over carefully. 

“Yes, I’m fine,” Leia answered, somewhat breathily from her surprise. “Is everything okay? Do we need to go?” 

Obi-Wan’s eyes fell on Skywalker, who was still watching warily, and then he turned his saber off and tucked it back into his robe. 

“No, everything’s fine.” He watched closely as Skywalker straightened back into that perfect posture that marked him out so clearly as military. Then his eyes turned back to Leia, his brows drawn together. “I thought… it felt as if you were being attacked, Leia.” 

Leia blinked, but before she could respond, Skywalker defended himself, “I was not attacking her. We were just talking. I was telling her the truth.” 

Obi-Wan’s gaze hardened. “And what truth would that be?” 

If Skywalker sensed the threat in those words, he didn’t show it. He met Obi-Wan’s gaze steadily with cool, blue eyes. 

“About her family,” he answered, his voice tight. “About how she was kidnapped.” 

“Kidnapped, hm?” Obi-Wan rubbed a finger over his beard thoughtfully. 

“It’s not true.” She refused to plead with her teacher to tell her what she wanted to hear, but she thought he must have sensed her feelings because his features softened as he turned to her. “Right?” 

“That you were kidnapped? Of course not,” Obi-Wan said firmly. “I swore to your mother that I would protect you—both of you.” 

Leia realized she probably looked as surprised as Luke did at that, but it was still satisfying to see him looking so unbalanced. 

“You knew my—our mother?” He asked breathlessly. Then he blinked. “And—Wait, Obi-Wan? As in Obi-Wan Kenobi?” 

Obi-Wan nodded simply. At that, Luke’s eyes hardened and he shifted back into a loose ready stance. 

“You killed my mother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Has it become clear yet that I absolutely love big reveals? How many can I fit into one story?


	12. The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep being busy on Saturdays, so I think maybe I'm just becoming a Sunday poster. Hopefully that works just as well!

_“What?”_

In another life, Obi-Wan had been a member of the Jedi High Council, a general who controlled nearly a fifth of the Grand Army of the Republic, well-known for his decisive victories and creative battle strategies. In the face of Luke’s accusation against him, however, Obi-Wan felt like a padawan with little control of his own emotions. He found himself utterly stunned, frozen to the spot. 

“I know you were there,” Luke spat, taking a step toward Obi-Wan. Out of the corner of his eye, Obi-Wan realized Leia had moved forward as well, but he couldn’t take his eyes off this boy who looked so much like both of his parents, especially as angry as he was. How many times had Obi-Wan seen Anakin just like this, all righteous fury? 

“I know you helped kidnap Leia and tried to do the same to me." Luke took another step forward. “And I know a Jedi murdered our mother.” 

Obi-Wan, who still couldn’t seem to find words, merely repeated, “What?” 

Luke’s face was red, his lips white and strained. His entire body looked tightly clenched, like he was about to throw himself bodily forward. How many times had Obi-Wan seen exactly this look on Anakin’s face? How many times had he seen the rising violence? He couldn’t think, couldn’t bring himself to move, or to say or do anything. 

“Back off, Skywalker,” Leia ordered, putting herself between them. “Obi-Wan didn’t kill your mother and I’m not letting you lay a hand on him, do you understand me?” 

“How do you know that?” Luke demanded. “How could you possibly know? I know he was there.” 

“So what?” She sneered at him, jerking her head to the side in a little shake. “That doesn’t mean he killed her, it merely means he was there. Calm down and maybe I’ll let you speak with him about it civilly.” 

“It’s not your choice. Step out of the way, Leia.” 

“No.” Leia’s hand was on her lightsaber. “You’re not going any closer to him until you calm down.” 

“She was our mother—”

“If she really was our mother, then I deserve answers as much as you do,” Leia snapped. “And you won’t get any of those answers by attacking a good man who has only ever tried to protect and guide me. Now sit down or I will make you sit down.” 

There was a tense pause, which Obi-Wan used to get control of his breathing again. Then, to his great surprise, Luke did as he was told. It seemed that just as quickly as his anger had risen, it had now extinguished. If anything, he looked defeated as he sat at the little booth table with slumped shoulders and downcast eyes.

Leia, whose own anger was carefully tamped down but definitely still there, sat as well and scooted over for Obi-Wan to join her on the bench. She placed a hand on his forearm for a moment when he sat, a look of concern in her eyes, but didn’t say anything to him. Then, she put her hands on the table, carefully folded them, and met her brother’s eyes. 

“Luke,” she pronounced, as if she was trying out using the man’s given name for the first time. “Who told you your—our mother was murdered by a Jedi?” 

“Father,” he answered. He looked stiff and uncomfortable sitting across from Obi-Wan, but he didn’t hesitate to turn his focus on Leia. “And the emperor.” 

Leia nodded. She had clearly been expecting that answer. 

“And were either of them there?”

Luke didn’t respond for a moment, then answered flatly, “I don’t know.” 

“They never told you anything else?” She leaned forward, resting more wait on her hands. 

Luke looked down at the table. “No.”

“And you never asked for more information?” Leia asked, her tone skeptical as she raised a brow at him. 

Luke’s eyes snapped back up to meet hers, wide and incredulous. “No, I didn’t,” he answered, shaking his head. “It’s not—I couldn’t. I couldn’t.” 

Someone had trained Luke to shield quite thoroughly in the Force, apparently, because at that moment, he seemed to pull entirely into himself. One moment, he was the bright spot in the Force that had so surprised them on Alderaan and then in the next, it was like he had no presence at all. Leia took a deep breath, perhaps sensing what Obi-Wan had, and then watched Luke for a moment before gesturing toward Obi-Wan. 

“Well, you have someone here who can answer your questions without lashing out." She watched him closely as she spoke, only glancing at Obi-Wan briefly. “So ask, rather than attacking, hm?” 

Luke pursed his lips at that, but finally met Obi-Wan’s eyes again. He opened his mouth for a moment and then shut it and looked away again. If Obi-Wan didn’t know better, he might think the boy was nervous. 

No, not nervous, he thought. He thought back to Luke’s words, his lack of any real explanation for why he’d never asked his father or the emperor for more information. But he didn’t need to spell it out. He couldn’t, he had emphasized. The Jedi couldn’t feel Luke in the Force, but if he had to guess he would say that the boy was scared. Obi-Wan closed his eyes. How many times would he be confronted with his many failures to protect the ones he loved? 

“Padme was a friend,” he said, breathing out as he spoke. He opened his eyes again and met those eyes that looked so much like his former padawan’s. 

“I like to think we were friends, at least,” he amended. “She was so passionate, always willing to throw herself into danger if she felt the cause was worthy.” He glanced at Leia and felt his lips spread just slightly into the ghost of a smile. “Much like someone else I know.” 

Leia didn’t smile, but she did turn just a little pink at his words. Obi-Wan’s own slight smile fell away as he considered his next words. 

“She loved Anakin,” he told them. “I knew it, too, even though neither ever told me. I knew how they felt. Of course I did. But they both had commitments elsewhere. Anakin had made vows to uphold the ideals of our order, to never put one person above all others. And Padme had sworn oaths of her own to her world and to the Republic. She was deeply committed to upholding democracy.” 

Luke was frowning, so Obi-Wan paused to allow questions. He had a feeling that at the moment, the boy wouldn’t be convinced to interrupt otherwise. 

After a moment, he said, “I don’t understand. My mother was a great supporter of His Majesty.” 

At Obi-Wan’s raised eyebrows, Luke added defensively, “It’s public record that he was her mentor and that she helped him to become the supreme chancellor.” 

“My father told me about her,” Leia put in, frowning thoughtfully. “She was his friend...” 

She turned a wondering gaze on Obi-Wan as she realized that her adoptive father must have been telling her about her birth mother. Obi-Wan nodded to her in recognition of her realization, but didn’t further acknowledge it. 

“The chancellor was something of a political mentor to Padme in her younger years,” Obi-Wan said. “But by the time he had begun gaining more and more so-called emergency wartime powers from the senate, she had become one of his most vocal opponents. She helped form the delegation that would turn into what we now call the rebel alliance in those final days of the Republic.” 

“What?” Luke’s eyes were wide, his lips parted, but then just as quickly as the shock had appeared on his face, he shut his mouth and pursed his lips. Narrowing his eyes in suspicion, he asked, “How do I know any of this is true? I’ve never seen any record of something like this.” 

“I’ve heard recordings of some of her speeches,” Leia said, leaning forward. “I don’t know about the details, but she certainly didn’t seem like a supporter of the Empire.” 

“I don’t have any proof at the moment,” Obi-Wan admitted, somewhat rueful that he hadn’t considered trying to find something of his mother for Luke. He raised a brow at Luke. “But I believe you were asking me about the events surrounding her death, and your birth, and not her political leanings?” 

Luke grimaced, but didn’t say anything else, so Obi-Wan continued, “Padme hid her pregnancy, but I found out the same day that An—Vader attacked the temple on Coruscant. She was seven months along, far too early to give birth, but far enough along that she shouldn’t have chased Vader to Mustafar. And I certainly shouldn’t have allowed it. It was a terrible mistake, but, despite everything, I couldn’t believe that he would hurt her. I snuck aboard her ship rather than stop her, because I knew she would lead me to him and I knew he had to be stopped.” 

Obi-Wan took a moment just to breath. He’d never had to tell the whole story like this, even with Bail and Breha. They both already knew most of what had happened, and Bail had lived much of it with him. He had to imagine that it couldn’t possibly have ever gotten easier to tell, even had he told this story a thousand times. 

“Anakin was already lost by the time she found him on Mustafar,” he went on, carefully breathing in through his nose. It seemed somehow that he could still smell the terrible scent of sulfur and ash that had overwhelmed his senses on that awful planet. “It was Darth Vader who met her when we landed and Darth Vader who nearly killed her by choking her with the Force. We fought. He lost and I thought him dead, but I didn’t stay to be sure. I couldn’t bear to watch it and Padme needed medical care.”

Another breath in, then slowly out. “It was far too early for her to give birth." He paused to look between these two children who had so miraculously survived such deadly events before they were even a day old. “But the medical droids at the med center Bail helped us to assured us that she should have survived. She was in perfect health before Vader attacked and her injuries from that shouldn’t have—she shouldn’t have died. There was no medical reason. It seemed as if she simply… lost hope.” 

Leia was frowning, clearly brimming with questions, but it was Luke who spoke next. He had a frown on his face not dissimilar to his sister, but as he opened his mouth to speak, he also raised a brow in Obi-Wan’s direction. 

“And you want me to believe you didn’t kill her?” he asked, incredulous. “With that story?” 

“I want you to believe it,” Leia said, before Obi-Wan could answer. “If you truly want to stay by my side, like you claim—if you want to be my brother—then you will treat Obi-Wan with the respect he deserves and give him the benefit of the doubt.” 

Luke turned wide eyes on his sister and for a moment, there was silence. Then, likely having lost whatever patience he had, Han Solo came storming onto the shuttle. 

“Hey!” he was yelling. “Are you people done yet? I was promised payment and another job.” 

Leia’s head snapped up to look at him in open irritation. “And you will get both,” she said, barely restrained anger in her tight lips and utterly false smile, “ff you can be patient.” 

“Listen, lady, I’ve been plenty patient,” Han said, looping his thumbs through his belt loops and standing a little straighter to look down at Leia where she sat. “I didn’t interrupt even after this old wizard—” he jerked his head in Obi-Wan’s direction—“pulled out his, uh whatever it’s called, laser sword, and ran away. Now, none of you are dead, so I assume you cleared up whatever that was about, which means it’s time to talk business.” 

“It’s a lightsaber,” Obi-Wan informed the man, perhaps a touch more offended than he should be by Han Solo’s dismissive tone. 

“Sure,” Han replied, flicking his eyes up to the ceiling and back. “Whatever. So are we going to sit around all day? I might just start charging hourly.” 

Obi-Wan turned to look at Leia in time to catch her dramatically rolling her eyes and couldn’t help but laugh. 

—

The job, it turned out, was to ferry the princess to a planet in the Mid Rim called Ord Mantell and help her free a shipment of power generators she somehow knew was headed there. In the meantime, her sister and that Alderaanian guard she had with her would be taking the ship Princess Leia had come in to go do some other rebel mission. It wasn’t the sort of thing Han would have expected a couple of princesses to want to do, but they were also rebels, so maybe he shouldn’t have been so surprised. 

He wouldn’t normally consider taking another job after all the cash flow issues he’d had with this group already, but the old wizard had coughed up eight grand and he couldn’t complain about that kind of cash. It would go a decent way toward the money he still owed Jabba, at least. If they were good for the payment for this next job, he and Chewie could pay back Jabba and maybe have a little vacation besides. It had been a while since they’d been able to relax. 

The kid, after hearing that the plan was to steal from imperials, looked downright scandalized before insisting he go along. There was a whole argument on the subject, which Han mostly tuned out to instead consider the overhead cost of a job like this and how much he could get them to pay him. 

“—didn’t come so far to find you just to let you risk your life for a couple of power cells!” he was insisting for what must have been the sixth time already as he followed Leia onto the Falcon. 

“You shouldn’t have come so far in the first place!” the princess snapped at him over her shoulder. 

“All right, children,” Kenobi sighed, following Luke up the ramp. “I think that’s quite enough for now.” 

“I’m not a child!” both the princess and Luke exclaimed at the same time. Leia immediately swung her head around, probably to shoot one of those death glares Han was already getting familiar with from her at the defector. He couldn’t help but snicker at that, glad at least that her ire was aimed elsewhere. If he’d thought her sister was scary with those cool, judgmental eyes, Princess Leia was a whole other level. It seemed to him that her deep, brown eyes were constantly filled with fire ready to erupt and, well, Han never had been smart enough to avoid playing with fire. 

“What are you laughing at?” she asked, sidling up next to him. She had a bag with her that looked small enough to carry on her back and was apparently all she was planning to bring. Really, she didn’t seem like much of a princess, even with the fancy updo and nice fabrics. Everything about her just seemed a little too practical. 

“Nothing, Your Highnessness." He didn't bother to hide his smirk. She glared up at him some more and then the kid stepped in between them. 

“I’ll show Leia to the bunks,” he said, eyeing Han with a disdain he hadn’t had during their travels together so far. Was this jealousy? Han almost wanted to laugh in the kid’s face. If Han barely had a chance with her worship, Luke really didn’t. She clearly hated his guts and didn’t care who knew it either. 

“Sure, kid." Han shrugged casually.

“I’m not a kid,” Luke snapped, then turned to the princess and reached out to take her bag. 

“I can carry it myself, thank you,” she told him archly. Then she nodded at Han. “Captain.” 

Turning on her heel, she didn’t bother to wait for Luke to lead the way before heading back toward the bunk area. 

“What d’you think?” Han asked as Luke turned to follow her. “Think a guy like me has a chance with a princess?” 

Luke’s skin actually flushed red with anger at that, his eyes narrowing at Han, but all he said was, “No.” 

Then he turned and jogged down the hall to follow Leia, leaving Han laughing behind him. Whatever the deal with those two was, Han probably shouldn’t get in the middle, but he wouldn’t deny it was fun to rile them up. Even the old man, when Han looked over at him again, had a twinkle in his eyes and a slight smile on his lips. 

“I think young Luke is turning out quite protective of the princess,” Ben commented lightly. “You might want to be careful how you approach her.” 

Han rolled his eyes. “Hey, I’m not doing anything but my job." He held his hands up defensively before heading away from the bunk area and toward the engineering station. Over his shoulder, he added, “And I’m not worried about a teenage pretty boy.” 

This time it was him left to walk away with laughter at his back since something he had said apparently struck the old man as particularly funny. Huffing to himself, he started a systems diagnostics check to make sure everything was running right before they left. He hadn’t had the chance to run a decent diagnostic since before Alderaan and he was certain the steering had been off after Taris. Ord Mantell shouldn’t be too far from here, he thought, even if he didn’t have the exact coordinates, but he’d rather have everything tuned up before a job like this. 

It wasn’t the first time they’d messed with imperials on the job and stars knew Chewie was always happy when the Empire took a blow, but this was the most direct they’d ever gotten. If Chewie hadn’t been so gung-ho about the whole thing, Han wasn’t sure he’d have agreed to it, especially not for the amount they paying. It wasn’t the worst paying job they’d ever taken, but he was certain anything they could pick up somewhere like Nar Shaddaa would be better... if only he wasn’t so worried about the Hutts turning him over to Jabba before he could get the money together to pay him back. 

So, okay, maybe this was the best gig they could probably get at the moment. Once they got back in Jabba’s good graces, however, he’d really rather stay far away from these rebel types. Smuggling for hutts and rich, shady types was one thing. Getting involved with rebels was something else entirely. He’d heard one too many stories about what the Empire did to rebels and it sounded much worse than what they did to run of the mill smugglers. 

So this should really be their last job with the rebels. No matter how much Princess Leia’s eyes made him feel like he was about to catch fire in the best way possible. No matter how much Luke looked like he could really use some advice on adjusting to life outside the Empire. Hell, maybe he’d offer the kid a job in case he ever got tired of chasing the princess around the galaxy. 

The ship’s computer chimed softly then, letting him know that the diagnostic had finished. The hyperdrive was running at eighty percent and could use a tune up, not a shocker, and the fuel cells would need replacing soon, but nothing about the steering. 

“What do you mean it’s running at a hundred percent?” he muttered at the stupid thing, poking around the screen some more. There was something off with the steering or the short distance navigation, he was certain, but nothing was coming up. 

A soft, chuffing laugh alerted him to Chewie’s arrival. 

“Hey, you could feel something off with the steering, right?” He scowled, looking up at his partner in crime. “The Falcon’s trying to convince me I’m losing my mind.” 

Chewie growled in agreement and then gently pushed Han to the side so he could take a look. It was only when Princess Leia came back to find out what was going on that he realized just how long they’d been at it. Between the two of them, they managed to jerry rig a quick fix to keep the fuel cells running a little longer and up the hyperdrive capabilities, but neither could figure out what was wrong with the steering. 

“So is this ship actually space worthy or not?” She had her hands on her hips, head tilted back to look up at him. At some point, she had apparently decided to change into a new outfit, this one all white and gray with a shorter skirt and white leggings. At her waste, she wore a gray belt with a shining, silver cylinder clipped to it that Han was pointedly ignoring thinking about. The less he knew about that, the better. 

“Course she is, Your Worship,” Han answered airily, wiping some grease off of his hands and onto his pants. They were black so it didn’t matter, he thought as he caught her dark eyes following his hands with raised brows. 

“Well, then we’re ready to leave as soon as you are." Something in her tone seemed stiff as her gaze moved back up to his face. She licked her lips and he realized she had switched to a darker lipstick along with her new outfit. Instead of the berry pink her lips had been when she’d arrived, they were now a wine red. 

“Captain,” she snapped and, oh, there was the fire again. 

“Yeah, yeah." He smirked and focused his own gaze back on her eyes. “We’ll be ready to get in the air in a quarter hour. You said all your goodbyes?”

She nodded jerkily. “My sister will leave at the same time we do,” she said. “She asked me to extend her thanks to you for helping her escape the imperials on Taris.” 

“Sure thing,” he answered, making his voice as nonchalant as he could manage. He shrugged. “Just happy to get paid.” 

The princess grimaced and took a step back—he hadn’t even realized how close they had been standing until she was a step away. 

“Of course,” she said flatly. Her eyes hardened, the skin around them tightening minutely. “And you will be paid for this job as well.” 

“Good,” he said. 

“Good,” she repeated. Then she turned her head to look off to the side, nodded again, and walked off without another word. Once he thought she was probably far enough, he let out a loud groan and wiped his hands on his pants again, this time because his palms had gotten damp. The sound of Chewie’s laughter reminded him that he wasn’t alone and, in fact, had had a witness to that particular show of charm. 

“Hey, what’re you laughing at?” He turned away pointedly, ignoring the fact that his ears felt distinctly hot. “Didn’t you hear me say we’re out of here in fifteen? Let’s get moving!” 

Chewie was still laughing as he stood from where he’d been working on the hyperdrive and clapped a hand on Han’s shoulder. Then he walked out of the room and left Han to his embarrassment. 

\---

Mara Jade stared at the holoprojection intently, maintaining the even breathing and steady focus she had held for nearly an hour now. Her master had ensured she was taught productive meditation from a young age and she had nearly mastered the skill of searching the Force for the answers she sought. In the privacy of the small, fast ship she had commandeered for this mission, there were no distractions to keep her from hunting down the knowledge she needed to guide her next steps. 

All around her, small lights that represented planets and stars spread out in the shape of the known galaxy. Somewhere, amongst those thousands of planets, Luke Skywalker was hiding with the mistaken belief that he could escape the Empire's grasp. She would show him just how wrong he was. 

A sudden tugging sensation pulled at her stomach. She closed her eyes, reaching out with her hand and letting it pass through the little lights. The tugging quieted, but she turned her body and redirected her hand until it came back. With a smile slowly spreading on her face, she opened her eyes and inspected the space the Force had pointed her toward. It was a sector in the Mid Rim, one she was only vaguely familiar with. The Bright Jewel Sector. There were still a great many places one human could hide in a sector as heavily populated at that, but she allowed herself a moment to feel triumph at this lead. She hadn't found him yet, but the hunt was certainly on.

It was only a matter of time before she caught up to her prey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Mara Jade wasn't really in the first draft of this story. I'm so excited to have added her in and I hope everyone else likes her too. She's one of my favorite Star Wars characters, so I'm glad I found a way to fit her in!


	13. Punishment and Crime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter includes references to past child abuse.

Luke had rarely been allowed on the command deck of a star destroyer. He wasn’t a naval officer, despite what his father had always wanted, so he had never had more than the basic training expected of all imperial cadets on how to operate a large vessel like that. No, he had followed the path His Majesty had preferred, into Military Intelligence where he could serve the empire from the shadows. It was lonelier, perhaps, and it didn’t involve as much flying as Luke would have liked, but he refused to be upset. His Imperial Majesty was wise and more strategically minded than Luke himself. 

Still, he had been on the bridge of enough star destroyers to know that they all looked more or less the same. 

It was why, finding himself standing at the front of the bridge, looking down at the familiar view of Naboo below him, he couldn’t have said which ship this was in particular. The deck was deathly silent, more so than even the most dutiful, quiet command crew. A glance to his side revealed that there was no one working in the pit, despite the fact that the ship seemed perfectly operational. 

Behind him, a familiar presence filled the space with an icy cold that his white intelligence jacket couldn’t protect him from. 

“Father." He turned to face the looming figure behind him. Like a snake coiling around prey, his father’s presence in the Force wrapped around him tightly. 

“Luke." His father’s voice boomed, louder and more echoing than it should have. “Where are you? Why didn’t you answer the emperor’s summons?” 

Luke shivered and considered if he could unwind himself from his father’s tightening presence. For the moment, he didn’t try. 

“I found my sister." His own voice seemed quieter than it should have, muffled somehow. Looking up at the familiar mask, he could just barely see through the red lenses of his mask.

“The emperor is angry,” his father told him, as if he hadn’t heard what Luke said. Luke pursed his lips and looked at his unscuffed boots for a moment. 

“I know." Hearing confirmation of the emperor’s anger filled him with stark, cold fear, but he firmed his jaw nonetheless and looked up again. “This is important.” 

“I was to take over the search for Leia." Vader took a step forward, jabbing a finger at Luke. “Or do you not remember the emperor’s orders?” 

“You said you’d kill her,” Luke snapped. “You said you’d kill her if she wouldn’t join us and you didn’t even ask me what I thought. I’ve been on her case longer, I worked with her, I know how she’d react—you and the emperor never listen to me!” 

“Enough, my son,” his father boomed. “This rebellious streak ends now. Tell me where you are and I’ll come get you and your sister.”

“And if she refuses to see reason?” Luke shook his head. “She’s stubborn. She cannot be forced to give up the rebellion.” 

“She will have to."

“She won’t!” Luke exclaimed. “I don’t know why you even bothered to send me to the academy when you won’t let me use any of the skills I learned. I can talk to her, ease her into it.” 

“There are other ways to turn someone to the Dark Side."

“Like what?” Luke demanded. “Would you truly hand her over to the inquisitors? You won’t even let me speak to one of them, but you’d leave her to their mercy?” 

His father crossed his arms over his chest. “I will do what I must."

Turning his face away, Luke clenched his fists behind his back. 

“And I will, too." He stepped back, pushing out against the ever tightening grip of his father’s presence around him. His father was powerful, but he didn’t want to hurt Luke. He couldn’t force him to stay without hurting him and they both knew it.

“Luke—”

Luke opened his eyes to the view of his bunk on the Millenium Falcon, his father’s voice still ringing in his ears. All around him, it was ship’s night, but that meant something very different on Han Solo’s ship than any imperial vessel Luke had been on. He could hear the steady hum of the engines and, below that, the sound of Kenobi breathing evenly in the bunk bed above him. Even zipped into his little bunk, he could see warm, yellow light from the hallway creeping in from under the door and the steady green blinking of the shorted chrono on the opposite wall. Beyond all of that, he could feel Leia’s calm, warm presence just a couple doors down.

After the cold silence of the star destroyer in his dreamscape, it was a dramatic difference. He wasn’t sure if it was a relief, exactly, but he was at least assured that he was still here with Leia. His sister was safe, he had time to talk her around before their father found them and dragged them back before the emperor. 

Shivering a little, the cold from his dream still clinging to his skin, Luke unzipped the outer bedcover and swung his legs out of the bunk. His internal clock told him it was likely still far from morning, but he didn’t want to fall back asleep just yet. He hadn’t meant to let his father in like that and he wasn’t certain he could avoid a repeat of that visit if he didn’t work on his shielding again first. 

Moving as silently as he could, he slipped down to the floor and let himself out of the room. A quiet swish and click were the only sounds the door made closing behind him, which he hoped was quiet enough not to wake Kenobi. He didn’t think the old man would be able to sense with whom he had been talking, but he didn’t particularly care to test that either. 

The lounge area was empty when he walked in, the lights dimmed in respect of the ship’s day-night schedule, but otherwise it looked just as it had during the day. It wasn’t the ideal spot for meditation, but it was rare that Luke ever had access to any sort of formal meditation rooms. Really it had only even been the rare times he had been given use of his father’s meditation rooms, and those never worked all that well for him. His father’s presence in the Force lingered too strongly in those places for Luke to be able to concentrate. 

So the lounge would do, he thought as he settled into a seat next to the dejarik table. It was, in all actuality, a much more peaceful space than he would have expected. Closing his eyes, he focused on his breathing for a while. 

He hadn’t been able to meditate simply to clear his head in too long and was surprised by how peaceful the Millennium Falcon felt in the Force. For a freighter that had clearly seen its fair share of action, something in this ship felt like home. He got the feeling that Han Solo and Chewbacca cared about this ship as much more than a fast vessel. Here, in deep space with the hum of the engines and the safe-comfort-warm feeling the ship gave off in the Force, he felt very far away from his father. He knew the sensation was misleading; the conversation he had had with the man earlier was proof enough of that. But it was strange to realize that a place as warm and comfortable as this also felt like a place his father could never exist in. 

He needed to focus on his shields, he reminded himself. It didn’t matter whether or not his father would fit in here. It mattered that he didn’t let any information on their whereabouts leak until he had managed to talk his sister around enough to bring her back to the Empire with him. 

Nothing in the lounge really indicated the passing of time, but he was fairly certain a couple hours had passed when he was broken from his trance by the lights flicking on to full brightness. He had been methodically imagining duracrete wall after duracrete wall around his mind to keep his father—and the emperor—out.

“You been in here all night?” Han’s voice cut into Luke’s thoughts. His eyes flew open and he blinked a few times as he adjusted to the brighter light. 

“Hm?” he rolled his shoulders back and loosened his jaw, which he hadn’t realized he had been clenching. “Oh, good morning, Han.” 

Han snorted and then moved past him toward the small kitchenette, if it could even be called that, tucked in next to the technical station. 

“You want caff?” he asked. “I’m getting caff.” 

“Sure,” Luke answered, then looked down at the sleepwear Han had leant him, and back up at Han, who was already fully dressed. He didn’t look like he had brushed his hair yet, but the man still managed to look more put together than Luke. “Uh, I’ll be right back.” 

Back in the bunk room, he found Kenobi also rousing, sitting up in his bed with the cover unzipped. The bunks weren’t that tall, but apparently tall enough that the old Jedi could sit up in the bed with a straight back, his legs crossed and his hands palm down on his thighs. Apparently Luke hadn’t been the only to start his day with a meditation. 

The Jedi’s eyes blinked open calmly when the door slid closed behind Luke. 

“Good morning, Luke,” he greeted calmly. 

“Good morning, Master Kenobi,” Luke said, keeping his tone as polite as he could manage.

“You were up early." Kenobi watched him carefully, his eyes alert even as he remained in that meditative pose. 

Luke shrugged. “Bad dreams." 

The Jedi’s brows raised at that, but Luke didn’t care to expand on it. Instead, he walked to the small pile of clothes Han had handed him, along with the sleepwear, the night before. Apparently Han couldn’t stand the look of him in the clothes he had, a sentiment he’d announced loudly as he shoved the clothes into Luke’s arms and then stormed off. Luke smiled to himself at the memory and tugged his sleep shirt off over his head. 

A gasp behind him brought him back to the moment and he glanced back over his shoulder at Obi-Wan, whose wide eyes were trained on his back. Cheeks heating, Luke hurried to grab the soft, black shirt from his pile of clothes. 

Years in military schools had beaten any sort of body consciousness out of him, but it had also been a long time since someone new had seen him without a shirt. He had almost forgotten the arching fingers of red that spread down his back, mirroring the lightning that had struck him all those years ago. Having a real-life Jedi gawking at him was a little too much of a reminder of how he had gotten the scar.

New shirt covering up his back and cheeks that still felt hot, Luke was rolling up the cuffs on his borrowed pants when Kenobi finally spoke. 

“Do you need treatment for that?” he asked, his voice full of open concern. Luke frowned. 

“No." He looked up, letting the confusion show on his face. “It healed years ago.” 

The Jedi’s brow shot up. “And left a scar like that?” Then his brows dropped back down and his voice went flat as he said, “It wasn’t ever treated.” 

“It healed fine naturally,” Luke said warily, not liking where this conversation was going. He pasted a tight smile on his face, even though he’d rather just drop the whole topic. “And it wouldn’t have made for a very good punishment if I got pampered right after, would it?” 

Luke braced himself for the curiosity or judgment about what he’d done to earn the scar. How many times had classmates or fellow cadets decided to add a few bruises after seeing the result of a punishment? None of them could have guessed where this particular mark came from, but they had certainly understood the bruises and stripes their teachers handed out for mistakes.

But nothing about the old master’s reaction reminded him of any of those instances. In fact, Kenobi managed to look like he was the one who had been struck by lightning.

“Force lightning—the emperor?” he asked, his voice thready and quiet. Luke paused, unsure how to react when the other man was acting like this, then nodded jerkily. 

Kenobi’s jaw visibly tightened. “And your father allowed this?” 

Luke rolled his eyes. His father hadn’t actually been there, but that was beside the point. He had certainly agreed with the emperor, Luke thought, since he’d sent Luke away from Coruscant to boarding school on Naboo the following week. It had been years before he’d been allowed to see the emperor in person again.

Rolling his eyes, Link finished cuffing his pants and began to pull his socks on. 

“Do you truly know nothing of the Empire? No one allows His Majesty to do anything.” He hesitated, then paused what he was doing and quietly admited, “Besides, I deserved it. I was being disrespectful. I learned my lesson.” 

He knew it was true, even despite the widening blue eyes looking down on him with dawning pity. He had learned his lesson that day, all those years ago, when he’d been too childish and immature to know when to mind his tongue. The emperor did not stand for such disrespect and a short demonstration of his power was far from the worst punishment Luke could have suffered. He’d even been able to get up and kneel again for his apology after the strike and he’d certainly never made that mistake again. 

“This is the Empire you want Leia to join?” Obi-Wan asked then. “A system where children can be struck by lightning for something as small as disrespect?” 

“All good systems are built on respect,” Luke returned. “And learning to be a part of a great machine is better than being executed as a rebel.” 

“She won’t be if she isn’t caught."

Luke laughed. “I was able to find her in a matter of weeks." He shook his head. “The Empire is everywhere. There is no planet, no system that is truly beyond the emperor’s reach. She’s not safe anywhere right now. I’m trying to save her.” 

“If you honestly don’t believe that we can win this fight,” Obi-Wan started, frowning down at Luke, “then why give us the plans to the Death Star?” 

“Because that station was an abomination." He did his best to ignore the shiver that speaking so boldly sent down his spine. Something in the Force rang with the truth of his words, so he knew it was right, but it was the first time he’d spoken so openly about it with anyone besides his father. He had learned his lesson the day he earned his scar and it was a very important lesson: never criticize the Empire where anyone might hear you. 

“It was an affront to the Force itself,” he continued. “And it needed to be destroyed.” 

“Your great and wise emperor was the driving force behind its creation." Kenobi's blue eyes were sharp and steely as he met Luke's. “Was he not?” 

Luke hunched down on the little bench that jutted out from the wall opposite the bunks and pulled on his boots while he considered his answer. His boots and socks were the only clothing that Han hadn’t provided, aside from underthings, because there was no way Luke could fit into a pair of Han’s boots. Staring at the scuffed boots now, he couldn't help but think back to his dream. In his father's dreamscape, his uniform had been back to perfection, before he'd roughed it all up to go on the run. 

Shaking those thoughts away, he stood, putting his hands behind his back, and raised his chin to look up at the Jedi master. 

“The destruction of a planet would have sent thousands, if not millions of beings straight into the arms of the rebellion. I’m too young and have too little sway to convince anyone of that, but it’s true. I don’t regret the hand I had in its destruction. I did it for the galaxy and for the Empire.” 

Obi-Wan’s lips quirked, not quite a smile, and then he opened his mouth to speak. Before he could, however, there was a loud banging on the door before it slid open to reveal Han with a harassed look on his face. 

“Hey, kid, did you want caff or not?” he demanded. “It’s getting cold out here.” 

Luke looked at Obi-Wan one more time, then turned toward Han’s direction and followed him out the door without another word to the Jedi. 

\---

Ord Mantell was a popular tourist destination, touting itself as “Heart of the Bright Jewel”, and it wasn’t hard to see why. With pink clouds and breathtaking mountain ranges covering the planet’s surface, it really was a sight to admire. 

Luke might have even liked it better if they hadn’t been spotted by bounty hunters almost as soon as they had set foot on the planet. 

“I cannot believe you failed to mention that you have a bounty on your head!” Leia hissed at him, crouching beside him with a blaster in one hand while her other hand hovered over her lightsaber. 

“Hey, look who’s talking!” Han returned, throwing her a glare as he leaned out of the alleyway they’d taken cover in to check the street. 

“I didn’t hide the fact that there’s money out for me, unlike you."

“Yeah, well, you didn’t ask." 

“Hey, uh, maybe you two could bicker later?” Luke suggested, fingering the trigger of his blaster irritably. He had been in exactly one real-life firefight before and he hadn’t really been looking forward to repeating the experience while on what Leia had promised would be an easy mission. “Let’s focus on getting out of here alive.” 

Leia looked like she had bitten into a particularly sour meiloorun, but nodded in agreement. “Luke’s right. Where did Chewie and Obi-Wan end up?” 

“Not sure,” Han admitted with a grimace as Luke shook his head. 

“I lost track of them in the market,” Luke said. 

“They can handle themselves,” Han added. 

“It’s not them I’m worried about,” Leia stated grimly. “We’re completely trapped. Who are these people?”

“Hey, it’s not like I know every bounty hunter out there." Han huffed. “And, look, I didn’t think Jabba was that mad, okay?” 

“Jabba the Hutt?” Luke asked, surprised despite himself. “You pissed off a hutt? Are you insane? You know how long they live, right?” 

“Yeah, I know how long they live." Han's lips twisted in irritation. “It’s not like I was trying to piss him off!” 

Luke rolled his eyes, then shoved Han over and took a glance out of the alleyway himself. The street, which before had been crowded with people, was eerily empty now. It certainly didn’t seem like a good sign. Ord Mantell, for all it was a common tourist destination, was also home to its fair share of criminal types. If the locals were worried, they should probably also be worried. 

“We need to move. Staying here isn’t helping us.” 

“We need a plan,” Leia said. “Aren’t you supposed to be trained in tactics?” 

Luke shot her a look. “I’m not infantry and if I were I wouldn’t be hiding out in alleyways anyway. I thought guerilla tactics was more your area of expertise.” 

She rolled her eyes, then turned serious. “We need to get out of this alleyway and we need to get back to the ship. How many were there?” 

Luke thought back to the absolute mess of a day they’d had so far. 

The bounty hunters had come out of nowhere almost as soon as the group entered the warehouse district where Leia’s intel said an imperial shipment would be coming in. Leia had her features somewhat covered by a stylish wrap, while Luke was in Han’s hand-me-downs and Kenobi had been more or less in disguise for twenty years. Han and Chewie, meanwhile, hadn’t thought to put on any sort of disguises and had been spotted immediately. 

Luke considered himself fairly good at spatial awareness, but it had certainly felt out of the blue when an Ithorian peeled themself out of the crowd and started running at their group, shouting Han’s name. Luke couldn’t tell if the chaos that followed had been intended or if it was merely the side effect of yelling a name apparently worth a good amount of money to an Outer Rim crime lord. 

From there, at least ten more beings had thrown themselves into the chase. Chewie had taken out two of them in short order, then Han another, but it seemed like they just multiplied. Apparently every other person in this part of town was a bounty hunter of some sort—or maybe just willing to become one if that meant some credits. 

“I counted at least twenty before we shook them,” Luke said. “But I don’t think any count is reliable if beings are joining in as we go.” 

“We need to get to that warehouse,” Leia said firmly. “We ran in the wrong direction, but if we can circle back around…” 

“Wait, you still want to go through with your theft?” Luke turned wide eyes and raised brows on his sister. 

She sneered at him. “Of course,” she said. “We’re here for a reason. I’m not leaving without those generators.”

“Does joining the rebellion drive everyone insane?” Luke gasped. “You saw how many bounty hunters are looking for us. We need to focus on getting out of here, not adding imperial attention!” 

“I hate to say it, but the kid’s right,” Han agreed, pointing his thumb in Luke’s direction. “Chewie and the old man are probably heading back toward the ship themselves.” 

Leia was shaking her head before he’d even finished speaking. “No, Obi-Wan won’t leave without me.” She pointed a finger at Han. “And you’re not getting paid unless we get those power generators.” 

“I won’t get paid if I’m dead either!” Han argued. 

“Look, either way, we can't go back out on that street,” Luke cut in before they could get started again. “And we can't stay here. We need to go up.” 

“What?” Han asked, shooting Luke a disbelieving look. Leia, meanwhile, tilted her head back to look up consideringly and then nodded. 

“You’re right." She squinted upward, already tucking her blaster back into its holster. “And I think we may be able to cover some ground from the rooftops.” 

“You two are not seriously considering jumping across buildings,” Han stated flatly, looking between the two of them with raised brows. 

Luke smiled. Han cursed. 

“Hey, I know she thinks she’s some kind of Jedi, but you?” Han shook his head. “I thought you had at least a little more sense than that. We’re more likely to fall and break our necks than get anywhere.” 

Luke opened his mouth to respond, but at that moment the eerie quiet that had fallen over the main street finally broke. Heavy footfalls and voices speaking in what Luke thought might be Ubese fill the air, headed right at them. 

“Now or never." Luke turned to see that Leia had already moved to start scaling the wall. Han groaned but quickly moved to follow. 

Luckily for them, the local style of building in this part of town were worn down bricks, which made for easy handholds. Less lucky for them, the Ubese group Luke had heard caught up to them before they'd managed to make it halfway up the wall.

Cursing, Luke paused to pull his blaster back out and fire off a few shots. He managed to hit two, but he was a perfect target and was almost immediately clipped in the shoulder back. 

“Great plan, you two!” Han shouted over the blaster fire. “Really, good job.” 

Leia, rather than dignify that with a response, let out a loud sound of frustration and then freed one hand and waved it back toward their followers. In a show of power Luke hadn’t yet seen from her, she threw all four that were still standing back against the opposite wall hard enough that none of them stood up again. 

“What in the nine hells—” Han started. 

“Keep climbing!” Leia ordered over him. 

Climb they did, reaching the top much faster than Luke thought they would have if not for the adrenaline rush that came with climbing for their lives. The rooftop they were on had a small windmill perched on top of it, as well as some equipment Luke thought was probably environmental control. More importantly, it was only maybe a meter apart from the building on the other side. Leia pointed in that direction. 

“Come on, we can make that jump easily." Already moving, she ignored the queasy look on Han’s face entirely. 

Luke elbowed him as Leia started to run toward the edge. “Come on. It’ll be fun."

“Fun,” Han repeated. “Right.” 

“Hey, what happened to the fearless pilot, huh?” Luke bounced on the balls of his feet to get ready for his own jump. 

“This ain’t a ship, kid!” Han argued, just as Luke began his running start. A meter really wasn’t far to jump, but there was a certain exhilaration that came with jumping over empty air with a several meter drop below him. He was still flushed with excitement from his jump when Han came stumbling over himself, only barely avoiding falling flat on his face. Luke found himself genuinely laughing out loud for the first time in—he wasn’t sure how long, actually. 

“Well, that’s one,” Leia said, a smirk on her face as Han straightened himself out. “But we’ve got a lot of ground to cover before we can climb down again. Let’s keep moving.” 

She was right, of course. And as fun as the first few jumps were, traveling by rooftop really wasn’t that easy. The next building was a bit farther of a jump and the one after that had required them climbing over electrical boxes to cross to the other side. They didn’t have to go the whole way like that—luckily, since the buildings started spreading out the closer they came to their destination—just far enough to lose their followers before they could climb down and try to blend in with another crowd. 

They ran out of close buildings they could jump between several blocks later, over a quiet street on the edge of the industrial district. Luke climbed down first, then Han. Then they both watched Leia jump over the ledge and fall much too slowly to follow any laws of physics, landing with a soft thump next to Han. Han’s jaw dropped and Luke had to admit he was impressed as well. He had certainly never been taught how to do that. 

Eyes wide, Han gasped, “How did you—?”

“We need to keep moving,” Leia cut him off, only a small twitch of her lips giving away her amusement. Han’s mouth was still open when she started to jog away from them, confident they were moving in the right direction. Luke found himself smirking and raising a brow at Han before he started moving as well. 

As they moved quickly and quietly through the streets, Luke felt his nerves rising again. 

“Leia, our plan is completely shot,” he said, falling into step beside her. “Have you thought about how we’re supposed to actually pull this off now?” 

Leia’s lips twisted into a grimace for just a moment, then she nodded sharply. 

“I’ve got a plan."

“And that plan is?”

“Don’t worry,” she said. She met his eye, then turned her head to look at Han and said, “You two just need to let me do the talking and play along.”

“Uh, yeah, I’m gonna need a little more than that, princess,” Han scoffed, shooting Leia a disbelieving look. Luke had some idea of Leia’s skill and he could tell it wasn’t insignificant. If she said she had a plan, it was likely a good one. 

Still. He had a bad feeling about this. 

Leia didn’t respond directly, instead throwing an arm out in front of Han, grabbing Luke by the wrist, and pushing them both into the shadow of the nearest building. Han opened his mouth, probably to complain, but she shoved him into the wall. Then she raised a finger to her lips, just as a small detachment of stormtroopers marched by. Luke’s eyes widened and he pressed himself into the wall next to his sister and their pilot. He hadn’t heard them coming around the corner like they must have, but clearly Leia had. Or she had sensed them somehow. 

Luke was beginning to seriously consider that his sister was much stronger in the Force than he was. Was this why Obi-Wan Kenobi had hidden her the way he did? Perhaps he had sensed her power from the beginning and realized what a valuable weapon she would make for the rebellion. Now that Luke knew about her, he thought somewhat smugly, he knew she would make an even more valuable asset to the Empire. Perhaps Kenobi would regret trying to keep her power to himself then. 

“We’re close,” Leia said, bringing Luke back to the moment. She took a step back, out of Han’s space. Han’s eyes, Luke noted, looked a little glazed from the close contact. Luke shoved an elbow into his side, pulling Han’s attention back off of his sister. Before Han could retaliate, Leia continued. 

“The next street—” she gestured to the side—“is where the shipment is coming in. We won’t be the only civilian types there, but security will be tight and we all know how quickly a pack of stormtroopers can clear out a busy street.”

Luke nodded seriously, while Han rolled his eyes and shrugged. 

Leia, ignoring Han’s insouciant attitude, continued, “We’re still on time, but we need to go now. Remember, just follow my lead.” 

Before either of them could ask any further questions, Leia was on the move again. The street they were on ended in a three-way cross and Leia quickly moved to the left to join the crowd there. Luke and Han hurried to follow before she was swallowed by what seemed to be a sea of people, all walking around slow-moving speeders and vendors selling out of store fronts and mobile carts. It was exactly the sort of scene Luke would have expected from an outer rim world, but he couldn’t imagine why an imperial shipment would be coming here of all places. Security with so much chaos would be right next to impossible. 

A thought occurred to him as Leia led them in a weaving path, behind a vendor selling oddly colored meat on sticks and around a gran street performer making animal shapes with their many fingered hands. As they moved, he made note of how many beings simply blended into the crowd, no one sticking out in particular amongst this many. This was really a terrible place for an imperial shipment and there was no reason why any imperial officer would schedule a shipment of valuables to come through such a chaotic scene. They should have at least cleared the way if it was absolutely necessary. No, this was a truly awful route for an important shipment. 

But it was an excellent spot for a rebel theft. 

It was a handoff, he realized. Luke had thought Leia’s rebel friends must have sliced a transmission or something similar, but now he knew it was more. There must be a traitor hiding among the imperials here, someone who planned for Leia to get those power generators. 

Lips twisting in disgust at such treachery, Luke nonetheless followed his sister forward. He would have to find out who had sold out the Empire to the rebels and, when he brought Leia in, hope that the information she knew would be enough to pardon them both for their actions here. 

They had just hit a particularly popular food vendor, which seemed to have a whole crowd of fans waving credits around to get their orders, when Luke spotted the transport. It was clearly imperial, though there were no markings. It was uniformly gray with sleek, smooth sidings that Luke knew were reinforced against most blasters and space enough in the back to fit at least six power generators, depending on the model. Generators like that could go a long way if one knew what they were doing and, as much as it chagrined him to admit, these rebels of Leia’s Alliance seemed fairly competent. 

They would need to stop the transport, get the drivers out, and take control of the vehicle if they wanted any chance of escaping with those generators. Luke really hoped that whatever Leia’s plan was, it was a good one. She wasn’t ready to end up in imperial custody yet, not until he’d talked her over. Aside from that, he knew he couldn’t protect Han if they were all arrested and he had to admit that he was getting fond of the smuggler. For a petty criminal, he was very honorable. 

Then, just as the transport started making headway through the congested street, several things happened almost at once, almost too close together for Luke to process what had happened. Later he would realize the order of events had happened somewhat differently, but the first thing he processed was a sudden, sharp disturbance in the Force. 

Without thinking, Luke shoved Han to the side just in time to catch the blaster bolt that had been aimed at the smuggler across his arm. 

Leia yelled Han’s name, then disappeared into the crowd. 

The crowd seemed to swell into a title wave and Luke grabbed Han’s hand. 

Somewhere, there was a loud roar, not quite drowned out by the shouts rising all around them. 

Then, Leia’s voice calling their names. Luke looked up and realized that somehow, in the chaos, Leia had managed to take over the driver’s seat of the transport. Still holding Han’s hand, Luke dragged the man forward, toward his sister. Han was yelling something, but Luke couldn’t seem to parse the words over the rest of the sound around them. 

Then, the muted quiet of the transport. Leia met Luke’s stunned eyes with a vicious grin and laid a hand down on the horn before pulling forward into the crowd. Beings parted for them as they moved forward, clearing the way as more blaster fire rang out. Han, sitting closest to the door, opened the window and returned fire.

Then, a loud bang on the roof of the transport. Luke and Han both jerked their heads to look up at the roof of the cab as if they would be able to see what had landed above them. Han pointed his blaster upward. 

Then, “No! It’s Obi-Wan. And Chewie, I think.” 

Time seemed to snap back into place then and Luke let out a long breath. Leia looked frazzled but pleased, while Han looked like he was one bad joke away from a breakdown. Luke wasn’t sure what he looked like, but it probably wasn’t good. 

“Well, you got your blasted generators,” Han said, looking at Leia for just a moment before training his eyes back out the window. “Now how the hell do we get them out of here?”

“We need to get off this street,” Luke commented. 

Leia smiled and said, “If Obi-Wan stuck to his part of the plan, we’re about to be the least interesting thing happening around here.” 

“What—?” 

Before Luke could get his full question out, an explosion somewhere nearby rocked the street. He couldn’t see anything at first, but sirens immediately followed and then the crowd of people was running. 

“Did you set off a bomb?” Han gasped, looking at the princess in shock. 

“No." Leia's smile was sharp as she jerked the steering column to the right to turn off the street and go back the way they had come. “Obi-Wan did.” 

Luke scowled, watching the street begin to speed by as Leia accelerated now that they were leaving the crowd behind. 

“And you wonder why the Empire sees you as terrorists."

Leia shot him a look, before training her eyes back on the road. “We only hit military targets, unlike the Empire. That’s an imperial complex back there, no civilians.” 

Luke didn’t have a response to that and they spent the rest of the drive in tense silence. Finally, Leia brought the transport to a stop down a narrow, shaded street not far from the spaceport where the Falcon was docked. As soon as they had stopped, Chewbacca leapt down from the transport’s roof, followed shortly by Kenobi descending slowly and gracefully to the ground. 

“All right,” Leia said, jumping down from the transport. Luke scooted himself across the bench in order to follow her out the driver’s side door. 

“We need to get these loaded onto the Falcon as quickly as possible,” Leia told them, her voice full of such authority that it was easy to forget that everyone else on the mission nearly towered over her. “Chewbacca and Captain Solo, I need you one of you two to ready the ship for takeoff. Obi-Wan, you and I will start unloading.” 

Then she met Luke’s eyes and raised a brow. “And you,” she said. “Will you help?” 

Luke pursed his lips. He had been along for the ride thus far, but this would be a level of help that would really make it impossible to deny that he was as much a thief as the rest of them. 

But it would be worth it, he thought. He nodded and Leia smiled. 

Yes, it would be worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spent all of today on the phone with my internet provider dealing with issues with my wifi, so this is pretty late. But! Managed to get the internet back in time to stay on schedule whoo hoo!


	14. The Warrant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter went through way more changes than most of my others, so it took quite a bit longer than the rest have. I think it works muuuch better. Might post some of my "deleted scenes" at some point though.

It was a credit to Kenobi’s past as a Jedi famous for his negotiation skills that he was able to convince Chewbacca to stick to the plan. 

It would be safer for Han, Kenobi rationalized, if they set up their distraction and then went to the planned rendezvous to find the others. If their companions weren’t there at that point, they could start looking elsewhere while the locals dealt with the imperial complex going up in flames. 

Good reasoning, of course, but still difficult to swallow the urge to just run in the direction he’d last seen his human. So he followed Kenobi through the city and stood watch while the man set up his explosives, then followed him back to the main market street where the theft was planned. They had detonators and timers set up and everything would go to plan if they could just find the others. 

The buildings here weren’t close enough together to be easy to jump, but between Chewbacca’s long legs and Kenobi’s Jedi tricks, they had managed to get three blocks away from the imperial complex without setting foot on the ground. Music and the shouts of vendors and passersby mingled with the sound of land speeders, all blowing toward them on the wind as he and Kenobi made their approach on a flat, tiled rooftop. Crouching over the edge, it was easy to see how such chaos would be the ideal location for a heist. 

There were too many beings to count and he could see at least ten different species intermingling in the street, keeping traffic slow as vehicles cautiously edged pedestrians out of the way. Among those, at least half had to be human, which made spotting Han even harder. From above, humans were even harder to tell apart than they were normally and it wasn’t until he noticed the princess’s complicated braids that he was able to find them. 

Relieved, Chewie made to move toward them, only to be stopped when the princess threw herself into a nearby pedestrian. She said something, he was fairly certain, then whipped around and gestured at Han. Barely a moment passed before all eyes turned on Han yet again in a repeat of the marketplace from earlier. Chewie knew with a certainty borne of far too much experience that if he didn’t get to Han immediately, his human would die. 

He shifted his weight back, considering if he could leap straight into the crowd to cover Han. It was possible, certainly, but he might not walk away unscathed, which would make a hasty escape more difficult. If he could jump onto one of the vendor carts first, perhaps, or—

Before he could make his decision, Skywalker moved. If Chewie hadn’t seen real Jedi masters in action before, he might have been surprised to see the man react before the blaster bolt had even been fired. As it was, he was merely shocked that the man was willing to throw himself in the line of fire to protect a smuggler. 

Maybe he wasn’t quite so unlike Han after all. 

\---

The imperial complex was on fire, even hours after the initial explosion. Mara’s lips curled in disgust at the sight as she picked her way through the rubble on the edges of the campus, hoping to find anyone competent to speak to. Luckily it seemed at least the main building had survived, but it didn’t look as if any of this rather underwhelming complex had avoided the chaos.

Bright Jewel, indeed. 

She had missed Skywalker yet again and it appeared he had transitioned from merely a deserter into a full blown terrorist. It was, she had to admit, rather surprising actually. They had come up together and, though she didn’t entirely respect the way Vader had chosen to coddle him, she’d never pegged him for a traitor before. What exactly could have happened to change that? 

It was a puzzle and one that nagged at her as she took in the destruction around her, but not actually her mission. Her master had ordered her to bring Skywalker in and she would do that, no matter how strange the whole situation seemed to her. 

The question now was how exactly to achieve that. Using the Force had brought her here, but not before her target was long gone. Pursing her lips, she decided that she needed to understand what exactly had happened here that the Force so wanted her to see. 

Night was falling quickly now, the planet’s pink atmosphere making the setting sun turn the sky violently magenta in color. It was a strange sight, but not the strangest she had seen, so she didn’t pause to admire the view. It was time to get to the bottom of just what had happened here. 

Getting access to the main building was easy enough with her codes. She wasn’t unaware of the looks she got as soon as she gave her clearance codes either. The security officer at the front of the building had barely even let her in before he was on the phone to the director of this facility, but she didn’t pause to wait for an escort. Facilities like this were easy enough for her to navigate, so finding a terminal with the sort of access she needed was simple. 

She had already found the after action report of the day’s events by the time another officer approached, this one wearing the rank plaque of a colonel. She eyed the man over, not finding herself terribly impressed by whom she could only assume was in charge of this complex. He stood a head over her, but with pale, wrinkled features and deep circles under his eyes, he looked as if she’d barely have to hit him to send him sprawling. 

“Ma’am,” he addressed her, giving a sharp salute even as he swallowed audibly. “I am Colonel Jur. It is an honor to have a representative of the emperor here. I—”

“I wouldn’t be so sure it is an honor,” Mara interrupted him. She tapped the display screen with a manicured finger, watching closely as his eyes flickered toward it. The report was still open and, in her opinion, severely lacking in details. “The Empire entrusted you with responsibility over this facility, and I can’t say that I’m very impressed.” 

“We are already working to get everything repaired.” He licked his lips, his hands twitching at his sides as if he wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. “And we will get to the bottom of just who was responsible for this attack.”

Mara barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes. She highly doubted that this man had the wherewithal to discover who had been behind this and, aside from that, she already knew. But there was one thing she didn’t know, which was just how that transport had come to be where it was in the first place. The bombing was simple and she could see it had been merely a distraction while Skywalker and his rebel compatriots made their theft. But why had that transport gone through such a busy street without at least an escort in the first place? 

“I’m less concerned with the rebels,” she told him, watching his eyes widen in surprise, “than I am in the fact that you have a spy in your chain of command.” 

“What?” His head jerked back, such that his already weak chin seemed to disappear into his neck. “That’s impossible. We maintain the highest standards—”

Mara waved him off. “Yes, I’m sure,” she said drily. “Regardless, it was one of your people who made the theft possible. All I need to know is who.” 

“I don’t understand.” Jur shook his head, looking entirely lost. 

She had to physically bite her tongue to stop her first response, even as she found herself wondering just how such an imbecile had gotten a position like this. The first thing she intended to do when she was done with this mission would be to ensure that the man was removed from his post and replaced with someone actually competent. 

“Who chooses the routes for deliveries?” she asked. 

“Any number of people.” Jur frowned, but paused to consider. “Power generators, however… That would be one of the supply officers in engineering.”

Not quite useless after all, she thought. “Is there a record of who exactly scheduled today’s delivery?” 

Jur nodded quickly, stepping toward the terminal. She moved back to let him access it, watching as the man nervously exited out of the report she had been reading. It took him long enough for her to start losing her patience, but before she could insist on searching herself, he let out a little breath of relief. 

“Nikola Sal,” he announced, waving at the screen. He straightened out, confidence overtaking his features for the first time during this conversation. “I’ll have her detained for questioning immediately. Nothing like this will happen again.” 

He turned as if to do exactly that, but Mara reached out to stop him with a hand on his arm. 

“You’ll do nothing of the sort.” She looked down at the simple black suit she had worn, which wasn’t actually a uniform of any sort, then back up at the colonel. “But there is something you can do to help. I’ll need a uniform.”

\---

Cargo hold newly filled with brand new power generators, the Falcon made good time blasting out of Ord Mantell’s orbit before any more trouble could find them. 

“Hey, not a bad haul, huh?” Han commented, speaking in Shyriiwook as he turned to smirk at Chewie from the pilot’s chair as soon as they hit hyper space. Their route back to the rebellion’s asteroid outpost was inputted and they’d make it in a few days, after zigzagging throughout the sector per the princess’s orders. It wasn’t exactly unusual for Chewie and Han to take circuitous routes to get around, so he didn’t mind much. 

Despite Han’s cheery mood, Chewie just wasn’t much in the mood to talk. He grunted nonverbally instead of responding, eyes trained on the dashboard as he fiddled with the navigation controls. Han hummed loudly to himself, always one for filling silences, and leaned back in his seat.

“Oh,” Han breathed out loud. “Is this about Luke?” 

Chewie grunted, especially not in the mood to talk about that. He shot Han a look.

“Hey, hey.” He held his hands up in the air, a smile tugging at his lips, before putting on a faux sympathetic face and leaning forward to rest a hand on Chewie’s arm. “You can just admit I was right.” 

Chewbacca actually rolled his eyes, a habit he had certainly picked up from his human companion. The man was a bad influence, that was for sure.

“I know it’s tough admitting you’re wrong—” 

Chewie growled over him to shut up, swiping Han’s hand away. 

Han laughed openly, the sort of carefree laugh that usually softened Chewbacca right up. Today, however, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing something.

“It’s not about being wrong,” Chewie told him quietly, his voice soft in a way he rarely bothered since they were so rarely around anyone who understood Shyriiwook. “But I don’t trust this. I don’t trust him.” 

“What?” Han asked. “He saved my life today.”

“And he’s a spy,” Chewie explained. “He admitted as much himself. So why are we trusting that anything the kid does isn’t calculated? What’s a little theft or some heroics if it gets him closer to his mission?”

Chewie was quiet for a long moment while Han considered this.

“I actually thought for a moment,” he said, “that maybe Luke really was like you. Maybe he’s a defector who just needs to learn better.”

Chewbacca noted the way Han turned pink, a funny little giveaway humans had, but didn’t comment. Han tried to hide it, but Chewie knew that the human felt a lot of shame about his time serving the Empire. If he were honest with himself, Chewie wasn’t sure he could have become friends with the man if that weren’t the case. Still, it wasn’t something they talked about. 

Chewie wasn’t done though. After another pause, he said, “How can we trust anything this cub says or does? No matter how much he seems like a defector, and honestly, he doesn’t. How can we keep him on our ship when he’s a spy. And worse, a loyalist?”

“You suggesting we throw him out the airlock?” Han raised a brow, but his tone was serious. 

Chewie sighed loudly. “I’m suggesting we don’t get too attached.” 

\---

Sitting in the lounge of the Millenium Falcon with his sister and her Jedi teacher wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it was becoming more and more normal. Since Ord Mantell, Leia had dragged them all on two more such “missions”, apparently bent on supplying the rebellion entirely by stealing from the Empire. How she justified such indignity while claiming a noble cause, he couldn’t say, but she was willing to discuss the issue with him at least. 

Well, she was willing to debate the issue with him. 

Currently, Leia was poking at a datapad she had gotten her hands on some time during their last raid. It didn’t look imperial issue, but a peek over her shoulder before she moved away from him revealed that she’d somehow gotten what looked to be free access to the imperial holonet. Since she had moved to sit on the farthest side of the bench seat, Luke occupied himself with a game of dejarik against Obi-Wan. 

His father wouldn’t approve of idle time wasted on games, but, Luke justified to himself, his mission was to ingratiate himself with his sister. This was not so different from some of his past missions. Befriending the resistance members on Akiva had required taking the time to partake in leisurely activities with them. Surely this was no different. 

He just had to hope that his father and the emperor would agree with such reasoning. Every day he spent trying to convince Leia to see the light, he knew it would be more difficult to convince the emperor that this had all been done in service of the Empire. No matter what, however, he had to remember that it was worth it. If it meant saving the only other Skywalker in the galaxy besides himself and his father, it would be more than worth it. He could bear any punishment the emperor and his father devised, so long as he was able to bring his sister home. 

“Ah,” Obi-Wan interrupted Luke’s musings, just as his final piece attacked Luke’s. He had an amused smile on his face. “It looks like I’ve won again.” 

Luke grimaced as he considered the board. 

“I don’t think I’m getting any better at this,” Luke commented, keeping his tone mild. He didn’t necessarily mind that he was losing so badly, but it wasn’t helping his mood. 

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Obi-Wan told him. “You lasted a few moves longer this time. Holochess is a game that requires practice and patience.” 

Luke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Now you sound like my father.” 

He only realized that that was the wrong thing to say when Obi-Wan stiffened and leaned back in his seat. To his side, Leia also tensed, revealing that she hadn’t been quite as absorbed in her reading as she had appeared. 

Luke sighed and considered how he could salvage the previously casual mood. He wanted Leia to get used to the idea of their father, but nothing he had managed to do in the limited time he had with her seemed to work at all. While she was willing to debate the relative merits of the Empire in general, as soon as he mentioned their father, she refused to engage further. It was like she thought she could take back the knowledge if she refused to speak about it, Luke thought. 

Perhaps he needed to approach her from another angle. If he brought up their mother, maybe she would be more interested. 

He was still mulling this over when Leia let out a surprised sound. It was nothing more than a click of her tongue and a sharp inhale, but it was enough to draw both Luke’s and Obi-Wan’s attention. 

“Is everything all right, my dear?” Obi-Wan asked. 

Leia pursed her lips and glanced up at them, then leaned forward and set the datapad on the table between them. On the screen, Leia had pulled up a wanted posting, the likes of which Luke had seen dozens of times before. Up until Leia’s posting, he had never paid much attention to these sorts of things. They just didn’t concern him usually. 

But this posting…

It definitely concerned him. 

Looking back at him was an image of himself above large, bold letters spelling out WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE. 

“What?” He stared at the screen with wide eyes, unable to make himself take another breath. Grabbing the datapad, he pulled it closer to himself so that he could scroll through all of the contents. 

Below the main image and message, there was identifying information about him, then the list of crimes. He felt as if all the blood had drained from him, leaving him cold as he read the accusations against him. 

Desertion. Theft of imperial property. Aiding and abetting a wanted terrorist. Espionage against the Galactic Empire. Treason. 

“This isn’t right,” he muttered, scrolling back up to the top to stare at his own face. Then he looked up at where Leia and Obi-Wan were both watching him. Obi-Wan’s face was unreadable, but Leia looked strangely sympathetic, her brows pulled down and together. It wasn’t a look he had expected to see from her, considering she usually seemed like she couldn’t stand being near him. 

“You had to know this was coming.” Leia’s voice was soft and measured, something gentle in her tone that he might have been pleased to hear at any other time.

“What?” Luke repeated, feeling as if he was hearing her words through a garbled transmission. He shook his head. “No, no, this is ridiculous. Father knows why I left. He would never allow—this makes no sense.” 

“You told him?” Shock was evident in her voice, but Luke was too focused to look at her. He continued to scroll through the posting, looking for any clues that would explain how his father could have allowed this. 

“Yes, of course.” 

“And he let you go?” Obi-Wan asked. Luke pulled his eyes away from the screen to find the Jedi leaning forward with his hands face down on the table. 

Luke opened his mouth to respond and then hesitated, not sure how much he should say. The other two were watching carefully, the echo of their earlier response to the casual mention of his father coloring the way they appeared to him now. Would it be smart to admit that he had spoken to his father since coming to them? 

Perhaps not, he thought, but he had promised himself that he would be honest with his sister. 

“No,” he said slowly. “I told him after. I needed him to understand that this is for our family, that I didn’t betray him like everyone else.” 

Obi-Wan inhaled sharply and then he narrowed his eyes.

“Like everyone else? After everything he—?” 

Leia held up her hand and her master fell silent, his jaw clenching tight.

“How did you contact your—him? Do you have a comm? Does he know where we are?” 

Still focused on Obi-Wan, filled with curiosity now over what the man intended to say, Luke answered Leia’s questions absently.

“No, he contacted me in my dreams.” 

Blank stares met that statement and then Obi-Wan said, “He must have been quite close to be able to reach out to you in such a way. When was this?” 

Luke frowned. “I have no reason to believe he was nearby. I have to imagine that if he had been, he would have come in person.”

Leia’s voice was sharp when she demanded, “Luke, does Darth Vader know where we are?” 

“No,” Luke answered, turning his confused frown on her. “Like I said, he would have come already if he did. What are you two trying to get at? I said I wouldn’t tell anyone where we are and I haven’t. If I had, we wouldn’t be here talking about it.” 

“You misunderstand,” Obi-Wan said. “You haven’t been trained very thoroughly in the ways of the Force, correct?” 

Luke pursed his lips. “I’ve been taught the things that were necessary for me.” 

“Yes, well,” Obi-Wan said, “You may not realize that what you are describing just isn’t possible. Speaking mind to mind, entering someone’s dreams, that isn’t something one can do at a great distance.” 

He paused, then added with a little twist of his lips, “Even someone as strong in the Force as your father.” 

Luke shook his head. 

“But I know it’s possible. We’ve been doing it my whole life. We’ve never been able to live in the same place full time, so it’s one way we’ve kept in touch.” 

Leia wrinkled her nose. “Vader has a link into your mind?” 

“He cares about me,” Luke said, hoping he didn’t sound as defensive as he was starting to feel. “We talk.” 

“Luke, what you are describing isn’t a power I’ve ever heard of.” 

“Perhaps it is a power only of the Dark Side.” Luke sniffed. “So you Jedi wouldn’t know of it. There are many such powers.” 

Leia scoffed. “What do you know about the Dark Side?”

“I know that the dark is the true state of the universe,” Luke returned. “I know that the galaxy is made up of darkness only broken up by occasional specks of light, and even those stars eventually burn themselves out. Of course the Dark Side holds more power than you can imagine.” 

“And yet you feel like nothing so much as a bright star in the Force,” his sister told him, tilting her head back to look down her nose at him. “If the Dark Side is so great, why did your father never bother to teach you how to use it?” 

Luke inhaled deeply, feeling his nostrils flare, but Obi-Wan spoke before he could come up with a response to that. 

“Luke.” He pronounced the name slowly and quietly, as if he were talking to a fragile child. “You know you cannot go back. The emperor will kill you, or worse.” 

“I am prepared to face the consequences of my actions,” Luke said firmly. “I am not afraid of suffering and Father won’t let me be executed.” 

“Are you insane?” Leia asked. “What part of a warrant out for your death makes you think Palpatine is just going to let you live after betraying him once?” 

“I didn’t—”

“Yes, you did,” Leia snapped. “And you’ve already admitted that you can’t always hide secrets from him. What will you do when he wants information on me? You said you came to save me, but I destroyed his precious Death Star and everyone knows that. Do you honestly think when he finds out that you helped me do it, he’ll let either of us live?” 

“He won’t find out,” Luke insisted, trying to keep his voice firm when he felt like the floor was dropping out from under him. 

“How can you guarantee that?” She shook her head, her features pinched and tight as she looked at him. “You already let slip about me and what I did. How can you guarantee that you’ll be able to hide this?”

“I—I just will,” he said. “I must. So I will.” 

Leia’s top lip tugged up and to the side in disgust for a moment, then she smoothed out her features. 

“I won’t let you. You aren’t going back.”

“I have to. I won’t leave Father. I won’t betray him.” 

“He betrayed you first,” Obi-Wan cut in, “the day he took you from your aunt and uncle and handed you over to the emperor.” 

Both Luke and Leia fell silent, turning their attention on the older man. 

“Aunt and uncle?” Luke asked. He pursed his lips, then said, “Sola never—”

“Not the Naberries,” he corrected. Leia’s eyes went wide at that name, but Obi-Wan continued before she could ask. “Your father’s side of the family. Owen and Beru Lars, of Tatooine. I took you to them just after your birth. They protected you, loved you like their own child. They were good people who never would have laid a hand on a child in their care, and Vader killed them and gave you to his master.”

“I don’t remember any of this.”

“You wouldn’t,” Obi-Wan answered. “You were quite young. Only about two years old.” 

“Why should I believe any of that?” Luke narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “I’ve never been told anything of the sort before.” 

Obi-Wan brought his hands up, palms facing toward the ceiling as if to show he had nothing in his hands. 

“It is the truth,” he said simply. “You may believe anything you like.” 

“Even if it is true,” Luke said, “you are simply proving that the stories of Jedi stealing children from their parents are true. You took both Leia and me away from our father. If these Larses were truly helping you hide me from him, then our father can hardly be blamed for executing them.” 

“I thought you said that family is the most important thing in the universe,” Leia said. “Why then did it not extend to them? Or do you admit that Vader is perfectly willing to turn on family if he thinks it’s justified?” 

“That’s not—” Luke tried, not sure what he was going to say next. 

“How then,” Leia interrupted him, “Can you be so certain that he wouldn’t kill you for your betrayal? Or me for my crimes against the Empire?” 

“He wouldn’t,” Luke murmured, feeling small and too quiet. 

“How can you say that?” Leia interrupted again. “How can you be certain?”

Luke didn’t have an answer to that, not one that he could think of while she looked at him with so much determination in her eyes.

“You can’t,” Leia said, answering her own question. “And you know it. Which is why you won’t try to take me to him.” 

“I’m not a traitor.”

“If you believe what you said,” Leia said gently, “about the importance of family, then you would be betraying your own ideals by going back.”

Luke didn’t have a response to that and he wasn’t so sure that sounded like anything more than a convenient excuse to make him feel better about his actions. 

“Perhaps we should continue this conversation later,” Obi-Wan said after a moment. “After we’ve all had some time to think about what we’ve discussed.” 

Luke liked the sound of that and made to stand, ready to go to his bunk, even if it was still rather early to call it a night. Before he could go, however, Leia reached out a hand across the table, not quite touching him. 

“Promise me you will think about what we said,” she told him. “Promise me you won’t contact Vader.” 

Luke grimaced, but nodded. 

“I won’t,” he promised her. After a moment's pause, he added, “Not yet.”

She didn’t look happy, but she didn’t try to stop him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need you to know that, as a much later addition, I spent the entire time writing Jur while thinking about that lawyer who couldn't turn off the kitten filter on a zoom call. Anyway, if you're looking for some good Emperor's Hand Mara, I would highly recommend reading _Allegiance_ by Timothy Zahn. A very fun read, a great insight into Mara's motivations, and very fun to see how close certain characters get to meeting early.


	15. Contact

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, my google doc file got corrupted and I thought I'd lost everything, but I was able to recover an earlier version of this chapter. Unfortunately, it meant I had to redo all my edits today before posting. But! Here it is, maybe even better than the first edited version, since it's now been edited twice haha.

“I can only bring one person with me,” Leia said, already tired of the discussion, “and it’s not going to be you.” 

“I’m not going to let you go without me,” Luke insisted. 

“Honestly, this whole plan sounds like a bad idea,” Han butted in. He was leaning against the wall, just inside the archway leading into the lounge from the cockpit, a hand tucked into his pocket. The whole look gave him an air of nonchalance that Leia didn’t buy for a minute. She didn’t really understand why he seemed so invested in her safety, aside from perhaps the fact that he wouldn’t get paid if she didn’t return. 

That was likely it, she realized. She glared at him from her spot on the other side of the room, filling a canister with water to take with her. She didn’t plan to be planet side for long, but the coordinates for her mission were in a of the planet that was in the middle of its summer. It wouldn’t do to get dehydrated before she could even make contact. 

“I agree,” said Luke, nodding in Han’s direction. The older man smirked at the support and Leia had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes at the two of them. 

“As much as I appreciate you two volunteering your opinions—" she made sure that her tone clearly conveyed how much she did not appreciate it as she shut off the water, screwing the cap back on the water canister—“it’s not for you two to say. I have a mission.” 

“I’d say it definitely is for me to say." Han pushed off the wall to stand to his full height. “This is my ship, your highnessness.”

“You already agreed to land." She stepped forward, closer to him. “Are you taking that back? Because I expect a refund if so.” 

Han grimaced. “I’m just saying, princess.” He took a step toward her. “Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me that you’re going out there. Why can’t the old wizard do it? Didn’t you say he’s a real, live Jedi?” 

Leia flattened her lips together at his dubious tone and tilted her head back to meet his eyes. “I am, too, you know."

“Sure you are.” Han's smirked, taking another step toward her. 

“I can take care of myself,” she said, tilting her head back further as she realized how close he was standing. 

“Sure you can,” he said, his voice quieter and more sincere than she might have expected.

“What do you care anyway?” The words came out much softer and airier than she intended, but if he noticed, he didn’t say anything. It seemed like a long time before either of them moved, as if in some sort of stalemate. 

Luke cleared his throat loudly. 

Han and Leia both jerked back as if shocked, Leia with her cheeks heating as she realized just how inappropriately she had been acting. Han ran a hand through his hair, leaving it an utter mess as he retreated back to his spot in the entryway to the room. 

“I don’t care,” he muttered, folding his arms across his chest. 

Luke, when she glanced at him, had his eyes trained on the ceiling in open irritation. As if sensing her eyes on him, he looked at her again. 

“I’m going with you,” he told her, firm resolve in his voice and the way he had straightened. 

“No, you’re not,” Leia returned. 

“Perhaps this would be a good learning opportunity for you both.” 

Everyone turned to see Obi-Wan come into the room with a small smile on his face and his hands tucked into the sleeves of his soft Alderaanian overcoat. 

“What?” Leia asked, incredulous. A glance at Han showed a look filled with just as much surprise as she felt, which Luke’s eyes gleamed with triumph. 

“Obi-Wan, I cannot—” she started. 

“Cannot, or will not?” Obi-Wan returned, a brow raised and a quirk to his lips that she recognized from so many irritating lessons over the years. “It will be good for you two to learn to work together as brother and sister the way you couldn’t before.” 

“Wait,” Han cut in. “You two are actually related?”

He swiveled to look at Luke with a disbelieving frown. “I thought you made that up.” 

Luke matched his incredulous expression with one of his own. “Why would I lie about that? Of course she’s my sister.” 

“What do you mean ‘of course’?” Han demanded. “I recognize her—” he pointed his thumb in Leia’s direction—“and no one ever said she had a brother.” 

Luke shifted on his feet, his face closing off as his eyes flicked in Obi-Wan’s direction. 

“We weren’t raised together." A twist to his lips belied just how unhappy that made him. 

Han didn’t appear to know how to respond to that, so Leia changed the subject. 

“If you go with me,” Leia said, “you will only be there to play my bodyguard and help if anything goes wrong. Which it shouldn’t. But I am the lead on this, do you understand? If I tell you to do something, you do it.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” Luke responded, his imperial tone somewhat contradicted by the wry smile that spread over his lips at her words. 

“No talking to the contact,” she added. “And if you sense something’s off, tell me before acting. Got it?” 

“If I can,” Luke responded, raising his brows in challenge. Leia grimaced, but nodded. She didn’t trust him, but perhaps Obi-Wan was right. 

Not about them learning to be siblings, of course, but this could certainly be a good way to test Luke. 

“Fine,” she said finally. “Be ready as soon as we land. You can go with me.” 

Luke grinned, wide and triumphant. It was a nice smile, so Leia wasn’t sure what about it made her so uncomfortable. She pursed her lips and then realized that it looked genuine, not like the closed mouth smiles he generally sported. It made him look younger and more approachable. 

She wasn’t sure she wanted him to be approachable, lest she forget the very real threat he represented. Whatever Obi-Wan wanted to believe, Luke was still an imperial with far too much loyalty to his— _their,_ she tried not to think—father. 

Their talk the other night had been revealing, to say the least, and had given Leia hope that he could be reasoned with. Perhaps they could make a proper rebel out of him, given the chance to remove the brainwashing he had been subjected to from childhood. But they could only do that if she knew she could trust him not to stab her in the back, either metaphorically or literally. 

Taking him out into the forest to meet a contact who had data for the Rebellion, but was too wary of imperial interference to transmit whatever it was, was as good a test as any. She was fairly certain she was better trained than him and, if need be, she thought she could alert Obi-Wan. 

\---

“How did you even find this place?” Luke grumbled, an hour into their hike down a steep hillside in the forest. 

“I didn’t,” she responded shortly, not wanting to waste her breath on chatter.

As it had turned out, they couldn’t land all that close to the meeting site, a choice Leia suspected was fully intentional. It was a difficult trip on foot from the nearest possible landing site, made worse by the fact that she hadn’t planned for it, forcing them to make their way on foreign terrain as quickly as possible. She didn’t even know who exactly their contact was, but High Command seemed to think this meeting was important, so she would put up with it. 

Leia was just glad she had had the forethought bring plenty of water, as the warm day had quickly turned uncomfortably hot even under the forest canopy. Beside her, Luke’s hair was damp from sweat, his bangs sticking to his forehead in a way that made her glad that her hair was plaited to keep it away from her neck and face. 

“How do you know the meeting spot is secure then?” Even without turning to look at him, she could feel Luke's eyes on her. 

“I don’t,” she answered. “But I trust High Command and I trust the Force.” 

Luke didn’t say anything for several minutes, long enough for Leia to focus back on finding a path to their destination and consider what she did know. Then he broke into her thoughts again. 

“What could this person have that is worth risking you?” He sounded offended, almost angry, she thought. 

“I don’t know,” she said. “But it’s important that we get it before the imperials do.” 

“Why couldn’t someone else come?” he pushed, his voice just as winded as she did, yet still wasting his breath asking silly questions. “You shouldn’t be risking your life on all of these petty missions. If nothing else, surely the Rebellion must realize what valuable propaganda you make.” 

Leia shot him a look. “My value to the rebellion is not for you to decide."

Luke grunted in response, then said, “Your value as a Jedi then.” 

Leia rolled her eyes. “I will not sit idly by while the galaxy is terrorized when I could be doing something." 

“Why risk your life on petty theft and retrieval missions?” he asked, ignoring her point.

“I wouldn’t need to be on petty missions,” she said, glancing at him again, “if I hadn’t been stuck babysitting a questionable imperial defector.” 

“I’m not a defector." There was no heat behind the words, as if it was becoming rote to say it. 

“Even better." She stopped walking and looked down at the small navigator she was using to guide their path. “Now be quiet. We’re almost there.” 

He fell silent and she felt him cast out his senses as she did the same thing. There were other sentients in the forest with them, Leia realized, but she didn’t feel anything dangerous toward them in particular. Low level anticipation, a fair amount of boredom.

“Someone is waiting for us,” Luke murmured. 

“No,” Leia disagreed. “Not for us.” 

“For your contact then,” Luke said quietly. “We must call this off.” 

Leia shook her head. “I said I would get the data High Command want, and I will.” 

Luke clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and turned to face her fully. 

“Are you suicidal?” he asked. “Are you trying to throw your life away on pointless missions?” 

Leia scowled. “It’s not pointless,” she snapped. “The work I do for the Alliance is necessary and important, even if it’s not all glamorous or safe.” 

“No." He shook his head at her. “This is something more than that. Surely there aren’t so few rebels in your so-called alliance that you, personally, must be on the front line?” 

“I am not worth more than anyone else in the Alliance,” she snapped. “I can do the same missions as everyone.” 

“You are worth more than anyone else in the rebellion,” Luke argued, his brows pulling together and his nostrils flaring. “You’re worth more than anyone in the entire galaxy!” 

“I’m not,” she said. “And I won’t be treated like I’m made of glass simply because I’m a princess or the Empire has decided I’m worth credits.” 

Luke fell silent, studying her face for a long moment. Then his brows raised and his lips parted, as if making a discovery. 

“You’re doing all of this to prove yourself?” 

“No,” she denied automatically. “Of course not.” 

“You are." He nodded to himself in confirmation, his face smoothing out into a mask of calm. “You think no one will take you seriously if you stay on base.” 

“I think that once I allow them to keep me on base, I’ll never be let back out." 

Her eyes widened at her own words, surprised at her own vehemence. 

“And you think this is better?” Luke gestured widely to the forest around them. “Walking into a trap just to show that you can?” 

Leia pursed her lips and turned away. 

She took a few breaths to center herself, then looked back at her brother. “What do you suggest then? I won’t abandon this mission.” 

“Father,” Luke said, pronouncing the title slowly and firmly, “always says that the best thing to do if you sense a trap is to spring it. Take control of the situation. We know that there are others here, waiting for this hand off. They don’t know we are here yet, so we can plan out the encounter. Let them think they have the element of surprise until it’s too late.” 

Leia eyed him skeptically, but considered the idea. They had already been delayed by their hike and she had no reason to believe that their contact would wait around forever. If they did as Luke suggested and pretended to fall into this trap, they might just manage to make their meeting. 

“All right,” she said. “But be ready for the attack.” 

Like smirked at her, unlatched the top of his blaster holster, and nodded at her. Then, without another word, they started to move again. As they carefully picked their way further down the hill, towards the small clearing Leia could just now make out to be their meeting point, she unclipped her lightsaber from her belt. 

The clearing was empty by the time they reached the edge, but Leia could sense the attention of their would-be ambushers now raptly trained on them. She met Luke’s eye one more time, then entered the clearing. 

A bird call rang out above the other sounds of the forest, nothing like any of the calls Leia had grown up hearing on Alderaan, but she recognized it nonetheless. This was the code their contact would use to verify her identity. She was fairly certain her return call wasn’t believable as a real bird, but she thought it should suffice. 

A minute passed. Leia kept her stance loose, her hand on her saber, and waited with her senses stretched out. She didn’t think there were more than perhaps five other sentiments nearby, but she could feel the tension growing. 

Then, movement from her left. She and Luke turned to see a tall, pale woman emerge from the trees dressed entirely in forest green camouflage. She approached with a grim expression on her angular face, just barely visible beneath a floppy brimmed hat. 

“I didn’t think they would send you personally,” she commented when she was within arm’s reach, recognition clear in her eyes as she looked at Leia. Then her gaze fell on Luke and her eyes widened minutely, but whatever she thought about his presence, she kept it to herself. 

“The Alliance understands the danger you face in meeting us—" Leia dipped her head politely—"and that you have something of value for us.” 

Their contact nodded sharply, looked around again, then reached into a pocket on her utility belt. She pulled out an unmarked, gray data chip and handed it over. Leia quickly tucked it into a secure pocket of her own as the other woman spoke. 

“I can’t guarantee how long those codes will work,” she said, “but the protocols—”

A feeling like a klaxon in the Force shot through Leia. She ignited her saber before their contact could finish speaking, swinging it through the air to deflect a blaster bolt that came from behind. 

“This is a trap?” Their contact gasped, pulling a blaster out of a back holster and pointing it at Luke, who had turned with his blaster raised in the direction the shot had come from. 

“Not set by us." Leia grit her teeth as she deflected another blaster bolt back into the trees. “Fire on them, not my partner please.”

“You were followed then." The woman's voice was tight as she aimed back into the forest. 

“No, I think they knew something was happening here,” Leia responded. “They must have intercepted the coordinates somehow. They were waiting when we got here.” 

“You knew and didn’t say anything?” 

“We suspected,” Leia hedged. “Do you have any reason to believe you’ve been compromised?” 

“No,” she snapped. More blaster fire filled the clearing, now coming from Leia’s left. 

“We need to get to cover,” Luke interrupted as he fired off another shot, this time to the right side. “Before we’re completely surrounded.” 

A shot rang out from behind them, in the direction their contact had come from. 

“Too late,” Leia said. She shot a look at Luke. “Well, we’ve certainly sprung the trap. Now what?” 

“You did this on purpose?” The woman gasped, just loud enough to be heard over the now constant blaster fire. Leia, starting to be out of breath from moving as quickly as possible to deflect shots, didn’t respond. 

“Now,” Luke answered Leia, ignoring the other woman, “I take them out.” 

With that, he fell silent, took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then, his eyes still closed, he re-aimed his weapon, let out a breath, and fired. 

A camouflaged figure fell out of the trees, collapsing into a heap on the forest floor. 

He repeated this once more a moment later, before Leia said, “Don’t kill them all. We need at least one alive.” 

Luke didn’t respond, but Leia was certain he had heard her. He turned and then aimed and fired again, before repeating it once more. Then he lowered his weapon and pointed a finger to Leia’s left. 

“The last one is there,” he said, opening his eyes. 

Leia nodded and ran past their contact, whose face had gone even paler. She couldn’t focus on that just yet, not when she could feel the last of their attackers, and the deadly intent aimed her way. She deflected several more blaster shots, then, spotting her target, she swung her lightsaber upward, cutting through the branch holding them up. 

A stormtrooper, armor painted green and brown, came tumbling to the ground at Leia’s feet. For a moment, the figure was still and she worried he’d landed wrong, but then he rolled onto his back and aimed his blaster back at her. Letting out a grunt, Leia let the Force guide her hand and back up her own strength before she yanked the weapon out of the soldier’s hand. 

“Stay down,” she ordered, bringing her lightsaber just under the soldier’s helmet covered chin. The sound of footsteps through leaves and sticks alerted her to the other’s arrival behind her before Luke spoke. 

“Take off your helmet,” he said softly, crouching down beside the stormtrooper. Leia blinked, surprised by the almost friendly tone of voice after the cold way he had taken out the rest of their attackers. She crouched beside him to get a better look at their assailant.

The soldier groaned and, unsurprisingly, didn’t do as ordered. 

“Take off your helmet,” Luke repeated, leaning in closer and lowering his voice even further. 

Another moment’s hesitation, and then the soldier did as ordered. Leia stared at her brother before glancing up at their companion, who was doing the same. When she looked back at the soldier on the ground, his face had been revealed. He was red faced and scowling, but his light colored eyes were wide with a fear Leia could feel in the Force. 

“Good." Luke nodded, a thin smile pulling his lips up. Leia felt a shiver go down her spine at that familiar expression, not at all similar to his real smile now that she had seen it. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” 

The man cursed in response, but Luke didn’t look phased at all. 

“Now, I’d like to know your name, soldier,” he said. “And how you knew to be here.” 

The man gritted his teeth and shook his head vehemently until Luke stuck a hand out and pressed his palm to the man’s temple. 

“Tell me your name." His voice was just a little harder now, even as his smile stayed firm. “And how you knew about this spot.” 

The man groaned again and answered, “Stovall. Krik Stovall.” Stovall squeezed his eyes shut. “We intercepted the transmission. It was garbled, but we decoded it.” 

“Thank you,” Luke said pleasantly. He nodded in their companion’s direction. “Do you know who she is? Did you know she would be here?” 

“What is this?” Stovall gasped. “What are you doing?”

Luke pressed his other hand to the other side of the man’s head. “Nothing. This is just a nice chat between friends, isn’t it? We’re friends.” 

“We’re friends,” Stovall repeated, his eyes going unfocused. 

“Yes.” Luke nodded. “Which is why you want to tell me if you knew she would be here.” 

“Never seen her before in my life,” the man said, his voice much lighter than before. “Didn’t know who to expect, didn’t much care. Orders were to shoot whoever showed up as soon as the handoff went down, then search the bodies and bring back any tech.” 

Luke nodded, then turned to the two women. “Is that all we needed to know?” 

Their contact was visibly shaken, staring at Luke like he was something out of a nightmare. Leia had to admit the casual display of power from the son of Darth Vader was more disturbing than she had quite expected. She hadn’t seen him use the Force before, had only briefly even inspected his presence in the Force. And, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on why, the way he mind tricked the soldier was particularly unsettling. 

Pulling herself together, Leia responded, “No, I think that is fine.” 

Luke nodded and, before Leia could protest, pulled his blaster back out and shot Stovall in the head. 

“What did you do that for?” Leia gasped, jerking away from him and standing from her crouch. “We could have taken him prisoner, he was unarmed.” 

Luke frowned at her. “He was here to kill us,” he said slowly. “And he saw all of our faces.” 

Though she was still pale and visibly trembling, the other women came to Luke’s defense. 

“He’s right." She swallowed audibly, then nodded once to emphasize her point. “If he had gotten away, he would have blown my cover.”

Leia clenched her teeth together for a moment before forcing herself to relax her jaw. Eyes trained on Luke, she told him, “We’ll discuss this later.” 

Luke grimaced, then bent over and picked up Stovall’s helmet. 

“We need to make sure he didn’t send any messages,” he muttered, fiddling with the interior of the helmet. 

“He couldn’t have,” the other woman put in. “This is a zero frequency zone. That’s why I chose the spot. There’s a satellite nearby that interferes with all short range frequencies.” 

“How did you get your message out then?” he asked. 

“There are channels—" she shrugged—“But nothing an average soldier should have.” 

“These aren’t average soldiers,” Luke told her. “They’re specialists. Like you said, this is a zero frequency zone. All that means is that the Empire controls which frequencies are allowed to be used.” 

“There should only be the one,” the woman responded. “From the satellite.” 

“There are shortwave frequencies that mightn't interfere,” Luke said. “Or you could piggyback on the satellite signal, if you know what you’re doing.” 

With that said, he pulled out a small device, no bigger than the data chip they had exchanged just a short while before. 

“A transmitter,” he announced, his lips pinched. “And a high tech one at that.” 

“He didn’t recognize me,” the woman said, then gestured in Leia’s direction. “But there’s no way they didn’t know her on sight. You two need to leave. We all do.” 

“You’re right,” Leia said, finally clipping her lightsaber back to her belt. “Are you certain you haven’t been compromised? I can help you disappear if you need to.” 

The woman shook her head. “No, I need to stay. I can do better where I am. I’ll stay safe as long as I can.” 

Leia nodded. “May the Force be with you."

A raised brow was all the response she got before the woman turned away and started her hike back down the hillside. Leia sighed and turned back the way they had come. 

“Did you recognize her?” Luke asked a moment later. 

“No,” Leia answered, turning to look at him for a moment. “You do?” 

“Of course,” Luke answered. “And you should have, too. That was one of Grand Moff Tarkin’s nieces, Rivoche. She’s a socialite, a member of the imperial court.” 

Leia hummed thoughtfully, but didn’t respond right away, more focused on the climb than that particular revelation. It was an interesting fact, certainly, but something about hiking through the woods on Eriadu with her secret twin brother who had been raised by Darth Vader made it hard to be too surprised by anything else. 

“I suppose she wasn’t all that close to her uncle." Leia kept her eyes trained on the ground as she took a large step over a fallen branch. 

Luke's answer was quiet enough that she nearly didn't hear him. 

“I didn’t think there were traitors so close to the emperor." 

“The rebellion is everywhere,” Leia said with a raised brow in his direction. “She seemed surprised to see you as well. I imagine she thinks much the same thing.”

“I’m not a traitor." 

Leia made a noncommittal noise, then said, “Those were imperials you killed back there. You didn’t even hesitate.” 

“They would have killed you,” he hissed. “I told you I would protect you.” 

Leia wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so she fell silent and focused on their hike. For a while, the only sounds were the slowly returning sounds of the forest and their own steps through the underbrush. Trekking back up the hill was much harder work than down had been and she found herself taking more sips from her canteen to make up for it. 

She broke the silence after they had made it nearly three quarters of the way up the steep incline. “I’ve never seen anyone use mind tricks quite like that before." 

“It’s what I’m best at, at least of the few things I was taught." Luke shrugged one shoulder casually. “It’s why His Majesty pushed me toward intelligence, I believe.” 

Leia grimaced at the mention of the emperor, but didn’t comment on it yet. If Luke was willing to share information with her, she should let him. 

“Is that what you wanted to do?” she asked, finding that she was actually curious to know. “You don’t strike me as the spy type.”

Another shrug. “I’m happy to use my talents to serve the Empire.” 

“But is it what you want to do?” 

“Is this what you want to do?” he returned. “Run across the galaxy from your birthright?” 

She rolled her eyes, but didn’t take the bait. 

“I’ve always wanted to help people,” she said. “I want to make the galaxy a better, safer place for all beings.” 

“That’s what the Empire is trying to do." Luke held a branch out of the way for her, as if to prove his point. “If you just come with me, we could do so much good.” 

“What good does the Empire do?” Leia demanded, stepping in front of him but not otherwise acknowledging the branch or his little show of nobility. “Is it the rampant slavery? The corruption and nepotism at all levels of the government? Tell me how that keeps people safe.” 

“It’s not perfect,” Luke conceded, “But tearing the Empire down will only succeed in creating more chaos and anarchy than your rebellion has already caused. If you truly wish to help the people of the galaxy, you should take your rightful place in our family and help bring about the changes you want from within the system.” 

“The entire system is the problem,” Leia snapped. “And I’m not foolish enough to think either the emperor or Vader would care what I have to say anyway. You’re shockingly naive if you think they won’t execute us both if we turned ourselves in. Did you forget that the Empire has issued a bounty for your arrest or death?” 

“I haven’t forgotten,” Luke said. “But Father will never allow it. He understands the importance of family, he would never allow either of us to be executed. He simply trusts us to stay alive long enough to return to him.” 

“You honestly believe that?” 

There was no hesitation before he answered. “Yes, of course."

“And you are willing to bet both of our lives on that belief?”

There was a pause, then he muttered, “It’s not a bet.” 

They spent the rest of the trip back without any further discussion, broken solely by the natural sounds of the forest and their own footsteps in the undergrowth until they reached the large meadow in which the Falcon had landed. 

Only once the ship was in sight did they hear the sound of engines approaching from above.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Rivoche Tarkin is a character who was created for a 90s RPG, whose page I stumbled upon on wookiepedia a while back. I instantly fell in love with her, despite the fact that there is very little content that actually exists with her these days. Anyway, yes, she was a spy for the rebellion and also later married a reporter and became a historian working to recover and share the history of the Empire in all its truth. Was pretty pleased that I found a little cameo for her in this story :)


	16. An Unexpected Enemy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy, I had a hard time coming up with a chapter title for this one.

“Did they send for backup?” 

Leia craned her neck to see what ship was incoming, but the sound was coming from the direction of the sun, making it impossible for her to get a good look yet. 

“No,” Luke answered, his voice cautious. “That’s no imperial engine. It sounds like…” 

He never got to say what it sounded like, as in the next moment laser torpedoes were raining down on the meadow, blasting into the Falcon and the land around it alike. Luke and Leia both immediately ducking for cover, Leia instinctively pulling out her saber and activating it. 

“Who is that?” she gasped, finally able to get a good look at the oddly misshapen ship swooping through the air over the meadow. It looked like multiple ships had been taken apart and reassembled as one, all painted in blue and white stripes and covered with more guns than a ship that size had any right to. 

“I don’t know, but I don’t think they like us much.”

“We need to get to the ship,” Leia announced, already moving forward. Luke grabbed her left arm and tugged her back, even as she jerked her arm away from him. 

“Are you insane?” he hissed. “We need to stay under cover.” 

“No, we need to fight back,” she argued. “We’re useless here. In the Falcon, we can fire back!” 

“If the newcomers haven’t already taken out the cannons.”

“All the more reason to get to the ship and help.”

Leia swung back around, starting toward the edge of the treeline again. Just as she did, as if the others had read her mind, the cannons on the rear of the Falcon came to life and began to fire up into the air. 

The other ship had the advantage of being able to move, which the Falcon either couldn’t or simply wouldn’t for some reason, leaving the enemy able to easily dodge the lasers fired on them. 

“There’s nothing we can do to help,” Luke said, just as more laser fire rained down on the ship with their friends inside. “You need to stay safe.” 

“Like hell,” Leia muttered, shooting him a look just before she took off running toward the meadow. She couldn’t just stand back and watch her friends get blown to pieces. She had to do something. She didn’t even know what that would be before reaching the clearing, where the strange ship came swooping back down for another run. 

Without thinking about it, she pulled her arm back, twisting her body with it, and then hurled her lightsaber up into the air. It flew in a large arc, improbably and unerringly toward it’s target: the cockpit, visible in the lower section of the ship. It hit true, the plasma blade of the saber flying through the transparisteel as if it were nothing. 

Leia let out a whoop and then realized she wouldn’t be able to get her lightsaber back unless she could get inside that ship. Cursing, she dashed forward, running through the wild grass toward the Falcon while, behind her, Luke yelled something she didn’t catch over the sound of wind and ship engines in her ears. 

Overhead, the oddly shaped ship came descending down toward the far edge of the meadow, touching down in a spray of dirt and long grass beyond the Falcon. As it did, Luke came running up behind her. 

“Leia.” He was red faced and wide eyed as he looked at her, huffing for breath. “How did you—?”

“We need to get to the others,” Leia interrupted him, already marching toward the Falcon, whose ramp began to lower with their approach. Before it had even finished coming down, Obi-Wan came rushing down it with his own lightsaber ignited and held in front of him. 

“Leia, Luke,” he called out, his eyes wide and his hair wild. “You’re all right, thank the Force.”

“The ship,” Luke called, keeping pace beside Leia as they came up to the Falcon. “Can it take off? If we can leave while the enemy is down—”

“My lightsaber.” Leia kept her voice quiet, all too aware that it was her own fault that she had lost it. 

“I can’t believe you threw it at them.” Luke turned an impressed face on her. 

“Me neither.”

“You threw—?” Obi-Wan started, then lifted his face toward the sky and closed his eyes for a moment. “Nevermind. No, we can’t take off. The attack was quite precise. Chewbacca is looking over the engines now, but it didn’t look good.” 

Leia pursed her lips. Then, “We need to go meet whoever attacked us.” 

“I don’t like this,” Luke announced. 

“Noted.” Leia didn’t bother to even look at him. To Obi-Wan, she said, “Will you come with us? We don’t know how many are on that ship.” 

“Of course, my dear,” he said. “Let’s go.” 

Luke let out a loud breath, but didn’t protest any further. 

The trek to the other ship seemed to take a very long time, though Leia realized it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. The meadow they were in was large, but not so large that crossing it would take the hours it seemed to take. Without her saber in her hand, she felt impossibly vulnerable. It was a silly feeling, she thought, considering how rarely she had carried her lightsaber before the Battle for Alderaan had outed her as a rebel. 

“Don’t shoot!” Came a voice that sounded like it was probably human. “Or, uh, throw any more laser sticks!” 

“Come out here and we’ll consider it!” Leia called back, wishing she had thought to grab a blaster from the ship. She put her hands on her hips, in lieu of anything better to do with them. At least Obi-Wan and Luke, coming to stand on either side of her, both had weapons ready. 

Out from under the ship, which had landed as if it had fallen backward, came a woman who couldn’t have been much taller than Leia herself. That seemed to be about where the similarities ended, however. She had tan skin and short, black hair peeking out from under a brown flight cap, and a face that was clearly going for wide eyed innocence. Her hands, held in the air, were covered in fingerless gloves; a tattoo made to look like something on a data chip traveled down one arm. 

Behind her, a black protocol droid and a matching astromech came trundling out as well. 

“Oh my,” said the protocol droid, its voice so reminiscent of Threepio that Leia almost wanted to smile. She didn’t. 

“I mean you no harm,” the woman said. 

“It didn’t feel that way when you were shooting at our ship,” Obi-Wan said lightly. 

“A misunderstanding,” the woman said, shrugging her shoulders with her arms still held up. Her droids spread out beside her and started moving toward them slowly. 

“A misunderstanding?” Leia shifted a foot back, not liking the way this newcomer was looking at her. 

“Yeah, see,” the woman said, a smile slowly spreading over her lips, “I meant to take the cannons out before you could fire back.” 

Before Leia could think of a response to that, the astromech droid shifted and revealed a frankly improbable amount of weaponry, all aimed at them. 

Luke gasped. “What the hell is that?”

“That,” the woman said, grinning toothily and lowering her arms down to her sides, “is Bee-Tee One, a ‘blastromech’ prototype. Isn’t he gorgeous?” 

“And deadly!” The protocol droid exclaimed cheerfully. It held a hand out to Luke, as if to shake. “And I'm Zero-Zero-Zero or Triple-Zero, if you prefer. I'm a protocol droid, specialized in etiquette, customs, translation and torture.” 

“Not that one, Triple-Oh,” the woman said. “We need him alive.” 

Luke took a jerky step back from the droid, whose outheld palm had begun to spark. 

“Now, if you two gentlemen would lower your weapons, that’d be greatly appreciated.” 

Looking clearly reluctant, Luke and Obi-Wan both did as they were ordered, Obi-Wan deactivating his lightsaber as he did. 

“Who are you?” Leia demanded, keeping a wary eye on the so-called blastromech. “And what do you want?” 

“Mostly to keep my boss happy.” She tilted her head playfully. “But isn’t that what everybody wants at the end of the day?” 

“And your boss is?” Luke asked, his voice tight. 

“Oh, don’t worry,” she said. “You’ll get to meet him soon enough. Triple-Zero?” 

To Leia’s right, Obi-Wan let out a gasp and then fell to the ground in a sudden heap. Leia, swinging to the side, realized that in all her focus on the little droid pointing cannons and lasers at them, she had forgotten to keep track of Triple Zero. 

She flung herself down to Obi-Wan’s side. 

“If you’ve hurt him—” she started, reaching to check her teacher’s pulse. Before she could, she felt something tap the top of her head and froze. 

“Hey!” Luke exclaimed, “Don’t—!”

“Get up,” the woman ordered. “Hands in the air. Or I shoot.”

Leia swallowed and put her hands up, looking over Obi-Wan until she was certain she could see his chest rising and falling. Then she stood and turned back to face the woman who had attacked them, who now had a blaster aimed at Leia’s head. Behind her, she could see Luke had his own hands up now, the protocol droid behind him holding out hands with needles extended from the fingertips. 

“Good.” Their attacker nodded once in satisfaction. “Now, you two are going to get on my ship and we’re all going to take a ride together. Nice and easy, huh?”

“Yeah, not so fast, sister.” 

Leia hadn’t thought she could be quite so thrilled to hear Han Solo’s voice, but now a cool wash of relief spread over her as she turned her head to see him with a blaster rifle of his own. 

“My friend back at the ship has the cannons fired up and aimed right at your hunk of junk,” Han said, a tight smile on his lips. 

“Hunk of—!” The woman gasped in indignation, pressing a hand to her chest. “Who the hell are you to be talking, with that pile of garbage?”

Han scowled. “Hey, that’s the _Millenium Falcon_ you’re calling garbage.” 

“The what?” 

“The _Millenium—”_ Han started, then pursed his lips. “She made the Kessel Run in twelve parsecs!” 

“Sure,” the woman said, clearly unimpressed. “Listen, I’ve got you outgunned here. Your dinky little cannons are nothing compared to mine, even if I thought you were willing to fire and potentially hurt your friends here.” 

“Do you know who I am?” Han demanded. 

“No, do I look like I care?” 

“I’m Captain Han Solo—”

“Who?” 

“Are you two done flirting?” Leia asked, exasperated. 

“Flirting?” Han repeated, swinging his head to give her an incredulous look. “What flirting?” 

“Gross,” the woman said. “And I think you’re the one who should know who you’re dealing with. I’m Doctor Aphra.” 

Han went pale at that, though Leia didn’t recognize the name. A glance at Luke showed that he didn’t seem to recognize it either. Han visibly swallowed and then tightened his jaw. 

“What the hell do you want with a couple o’ kids then?” he asked. “Neither even has any mechno limbs for you to poke at.” 

“Not everything is archeology,” Aphra said, a twist to her lips like she hated to admit that. “Sometimes it’s just business.” 

“Yeah, well, these two are my business,” Han said, shifting the rifle blaster in his arms up at her. “And there’s no way I’m letting you walk away with either of them.”

“And how are you going to stop me?” She laughed. “Triple Zero here can route a fatal shock through his palms and kill your friend here—” she nodded at Luke, who was holding completely still under the droid’s watchful photosensors—“before you could even pull the trigger on that thing. Not to mention Bee-Tee One, there.” 

Han’s eyes flicked down and to the side for a moment, then he smirked. “Not sure how your droid’s’ll manage that when one’s got no arms and the other’s blind.”

“What—?” 

Before she could get her question out, Chewbacca appeared as if out of nowhere and pulled the arm closest to Luke out of the droid’s socket. At the same time, Leia heard the distinctive sound of a lightsaber igniting. She turned just in time to see Obi-Wan, still mostly on the ground, having stabbed through the dome of the Bee-Tee One unit. 

“My arm!” shrieked Triple Zero, just as Chewbacca swung back with the arm. “You beast, how dare you hit me with my own arm! Oh, the indignity!” 

The protocol droid said something else, but Chewbacca roared over him. At the same time, the other droid let out a shrill beeping as it swiveled its dome around with a terrible scraping sound, as of metal dragging together. Obi-Wan let out a noise of disgust and stabbed it again, this time through the middle of its cylindrical base. 

“All right,” Leia said. “Doctor Aphra, whoever the hell you are. You’re going to tell us what you’re doing here and who hired you and then, maybe, we’ll play nice.” 

“You’re rebels, aren’t you?” Aphra snarled. “All you do is play nice.” 

“I can assure you, that’s not always true.” Leia took a step closer to the other woman. “But you’re right. We’re better than the Empire, better than the Hutts. So tell me, who are you working for? We can protect you if you just give us information.” 

Aphra laughed, loudly and with her full body, doubling over after a moment. Then she dragged a hand over her eyes, as if to wipe away tears that weren’t there, and stood back up again. 

“Oh, wow.” Aphra made a face like she was trying to stop the laughter with some difficulty. “That’s quite the offer. But you don’t scare me nearly as much as the big man does.” 

“Who is he?” Leia demanded. “Tell us, now.” 

Aphra’s smile, leftover from her laughter, spread wide over her mouth as her eyes widened maniacally. 

“Darth Vader,” she enunciated carefully. 

Chewbacca actually paused in beating the protocol droid with its own arm at that and to Leia’s right she could hear Obi-Wan’s gasp. To her left, Leia noticed Luke go tense and still. 

“What were your orders?” he asked, voice low and tight. “Your exact orders.” 

“What’s it to you?” she asked. “You’ve already won, right? So tell me, how are you going to protect me from Vader when you can’t even protect yourselves?” 

“What do you mean?” Obi-Wan asked. “Is Vader coming here?” 

“Oh, yeah.” Aphra nodded. “Did I forget to mention that?” 

Han cursed. Luke moved so that he was standing in Doctor Aphra’s personal space. 

“You said you aren’t afraid of us.” He spoke quietly enough that Leia could barely hear him over the continued high-pitched whining coming from the blastromech. “But perhaps you should be.” 

He pressed a hand to the side of her face, but before he could do a repeat of what he had done to the soldier down the hill, Leia grabbed his arm. 

“Luke,” she said. “That’s enough.” 

Luke stood frozen, staring at Aphra with his muscles stiff, seeming not to have heard anything Leia said. Aphra herself was staring wide eyed at Luke, as if she could actually sense just how dangerous he had the potential to be. 

“Luke,” she repeated, squeezing his arm with her hand and pulling on it. “Enough! We need to get the ship and go.” 

Finally, he broke eye contact with Aphra and looked at Leia, giving her a shaky nod. He didn’t pull away from the woman yet, however, turning back to her and taking a deep breath. 

“What were your orders?” he asked, his voice much smoother and lighter this time. 

“To capture you both,” Aphra answered quickly. “Bring you back to him.” 

“Alive?” Luke clarified. 

“Yes.” 

He nodded, apparently satisfied, and then said, “Sleep.”

After a moment’s pause, her eyes rolled back and she collapsed into his arms. With a grimace, Luke lowered her to the ground, his movements much gentler than Leia would have expected. 

Leia let out a long breath, then pushed a stray lock of hair out of her face and turned away from her brother. 

“Han,” she called, shaking her arms out to expel some of the adrenaline that had built up. “How quickly can we get the ship into the air?” 

“We can leave almost immediately, after a couple of quick repairs, but we won’t be able to go far.” Han grimaced. “Hyperdrive’s shot until we can get somewhere and get replacement parts.” 

Leia nodded. It wasn’t ideal, but it was better than she’d feared. 

“Chewie, can you carry the doctor?” she asked, turning to face the wookie in question. The sound he made was full of confusion, but he picked the woman up regardless. “We need to take her with us.” 

“Why?” Han asked, though he followed easily enough once Leia started walking back toward the Falcon. “It’s not like she learned anything here, did she?” 

“It’s not about what she saw here,” Leia replied. “It’s about what we can learn from her. Things are shifting in the Empire if Darth Vader is stooping to hire contractors to find us. We need to know what exactly is going on.” 

Obi-Wan joined them then, having jogged to catch up and walk to Leia's left. His expression was grim when he met Leia’s eyes. 

“This does show a rather dramatic change in behavior,” he commented, clearly having heard Leia’s earlier statement. “Vader hasn’t exactly been known to hire outside of the imperial chain of command.” 

“You think he’s, what, hiding something from the Emperor?” Han asked, looking sideways at the two of them with an expression that made it clear just how unbelievable that sounded. When neither denied that, he widened his eyes dramatically. “Vader? Poster boy for loyalty to the Empire?”

Leia pursed her lips, but didn’t give a response. She had some idea why he might be changing his tune now, but she didn’t want to explain that to Han. She didn’t want to explain their newly discovered connection to anyone. Or think about it too long. 

When they reached the ship, Chewie strapped Aphra, still unconscious, into one of the seats in the lounge. Then he cast about for a cable, which he proceeded to tie her wrists together with. While he did that, Leia made sure to check her over for more tools or weapons she might use against them once she awoke again. 

Every pocket and pouch on her person concealed some tool or other, many of which Leia couldn’t have named if she tried. Aside from a dozen oddly shaped tools, she also found a wicked looking dagger tucked into one of her boots, plus a vial of what Leia suspected was poison, or perhaps alcohol. She wasn’t going to try it to find out. 

Only once she felt certain that their prisoner was secured did she step back and consider where they would go next. Eadu was, unfortunately, not particularly close to any rebel bases or waystations, but perhaps there was someone friendly nearby. Without a functioning hyperdrive, it could take days to get to even the nearest planet. 

She was still considering this when Luke wandered back into the room with a serious expression on his face. 

“Leia,” he said, his voice low but urgent. “If you want to avoid our—” his eyes flicked toward the engineering room, where Chewbacca was grumbling at some controls—“Vader, we need to go now.” 

“We’re going as fast as we can, Luke,” she replied, irritation beginning to crawl up her spine at his tone. “Chewie’s making repairs before we can safely leave the atmosphere.” 

“Leia,” he repeated, stepping forward and laying a hand on her arm. “He’s just entered the system. He’ll be here any minute.” 

“What?” 

“Can’t you feel it?” He tilted his head up and to the side, closed his eyes for a moment, then winced and opened them again. “And he’s not happy.” 

“Why are you telling me this?” Leia demanded, even as she started to move toward engineering. “I thought you wanted to bring me back.” 

“I do,” Luke answered earnestly. “But I know it wouldn’t be a good idea right now. Not yet. And not when he’s so upset.”

“Upset,” Leia muttered, disbelieving. “Right.” 

Luke didn’t respond to that, likely sensing that she hadn’t really been aiming the comment at him. 

Chewie, kneeling in front of an open panel with his paws full of wires, looked up as soon as they entered the room. 

“Chewbacca, how fast can you be done?” she asked. “We need to go now.” 

Something in her voice must have alerted him to the urgency. Chewbacca growled, cursed, then shoved the wires back into the wall. His voice was full of command when he stood and told her that they would leave immediately. 

“What did he say?” Luke asked, as Chewbacca left the room. 

“He said to go get Obi-Wan and strap in,” Leia responded, spinning on her heel to follow the wookie out. “We’re leaving.” 

In the cockpit, Han was already prepping the ship for takeoff. He glanced up at her for barely a second when she entered, then turned back to the dashboard.

“Where to, your worship?” he asked. 

“We just need to go,” she answered, ignoring the ridiculous title. “As quickly as possible.” 

“Chewie, think you could still sweet talk that old junk dealer on Formos?” Han asked, not bothering to look at his co-pilot as they both set up the ship for takeoff. 

Chewbacca grumbled something Leia didn’t understand, but Han laughed so it must have been positive. 

“Formos?” she asked, finally processing his words. “That’s imperial controlled. We can’t go there.” 

“Not much else in the area we can get to with the fuel we’ve got and no hyperdrive,” Han answered. “Besides, it’s imperial controlled, so they’ll never expect us to show up there.” 

“Fine.” Leia grimaced. “Then we need to get to Akiva.” 

“Akiva?” Han repeated. “The hell’s on Akiva?”

“A place we can take our new friend,” Leia answered shortly. 

Han hummed noncommittally at that. “Go strap in. We’re going.” 

\---

“How long can you keep her out like that?” Leia nodded in Aphra’s direction. 

Luke, sitting on the other end of the bench from their prisoner, shrugged. The woman in question was sitting limply in the same seat they’d strapped her in a few hours ago, mouth open and head tilted back. It was an almost comical picture. 

“I just helped her fall asleep in the first place,” he said. “She must’ve been tired, because I’m not doing anything at this point.”

Leia shot her a skeptical look, then focused back on Luke. Aside from the unconscious woman, they were alone in the lounge. That didn’t mean they would have privacy, but a quick reach with her senses confirmed that no one else was paying attention to them for the moment at least. Obi-Wan, she could feel in the bunks, a calm, meditative feeling radiating off of him. In the cockpit, Han and Chewbacca seemed focused, but good tempered. She imagined they were bantering over the dashboard the way they always seemed to be doing. 

As for Aphra, Luke was right in one regard at least. The woman was certainly still unconscious, regardless of how likely Leia found it that she was simply tired enough to stay asleep this long after so much jostling. 

Leia turned away then and contemplated the kitchenette. How Han and Chewbacca lived like this full time, she couldn’t fathom, but it would do for the moment. Standing on her toes to reach, she pulled down a canister marked CAFF and pulled the lid off to inspect. Inside, there was an instant powder mix which she carefully sniffed. It didn’t smell awful, so she pulled down a metal mug as well. 

“Father wants us alive,” Luke said, breaking the silence. Leia glanced back at him, then merely shrugged her shoulders. 

“I knew,” he continued, voice wavering just slightly. As he spoke, the confidence in his voice rose. “Of course, I knew. But… this is confirmation. I was right.” 

Leia sighed and then gestured with the mug in her hand. “Do you want caff?” she asked, not acknowledging his words yet. “It’s instant, but it doesn’t smell bad.” 

“I’ve tried it.” Luke shrugged. “It’s better than the awful stuff they’ve got on star destroyers at least. But no, thank you.” 

Leia nodded and turned back to the kitchenette to hunt for silverware. 

“What does it matter if he wants us alive?” Leia asked, rifling through the drawer under the counter until she found a spoon that looked like it was probably clean. Deciding she needed caff more than she was worried about how clean it actually was, she stuck it into the powder. 

“What does it matter?” Luke repeated. “It means he disagrees with the death warrant. It means I was right. He will protect us from the emperor.” 

“Or he wants the honor of executing us himself,” Leia returned, pouring water into her cup. 

“No, that’s not it,” Luke insisted. 

“Why not simply change the warrants then?” she asked. “Or is his standing with the emperor truly so bad these days? In which case, how am I to believe that he could protect us even were he to want to?” 

“He can’t reduce the charges on the warrants.” His voice made it clear he thought this was obvious. “It would look weak if the Empire changed such orders before they’d even caught us. Only once we’re back can the emperor pardon us.” 

“That’s ridiculous,” Leia scoffed, turning to shoot him a look. Then she looked back at the small counter and considered the ancient looking nanowave. If it didn’t catch fire while she tried heating her caff, she decided, it would be a minor miracle. Still, she needed the caff. She’d take her chances. 

“Besides,” she said, “I thought you said he was angry. That doesn’t sound like Vader was particularly interested in pardoning us.” 

Luke paused and she could hear fabric shifting as he moved in his seat. 

“Father’s moods can be difficult,” he said slowly. “It’s important to keep your mental shields up when he’s in such a mood. But he would never harm us in any permanent way. We’re his children.” 

Leia really didn’t like the sound of that. “What do you mean, in any permanent way?” She turned her entire body back toward her brother, inspecting his face closely. “Has he hurt you before?”

Luke’s expression went blank and Leia had to wonder again who on earth had decided that this man should work in intelligence. 

“Not really,” he said. “And nothing I didn’t deserve, I assure you. It’s just better to avoid his ire.” 

“Luke,” she breathed, not sure how to respond to that. He clenched his jaw. 

“It’s not like that,” he said. “Whatever you’re thinking. It’s not like that. He loves me. He’s protected me my whole life.”

“That’s—”

“Stop.” 

Luke looked down at his hands, which he pulled into tight fists for just a moment before releasing them. When he looked up again, it was like the conversation hadn’t happened. 

Voice casual now, Luke said, “It’s a good sign that he’s being subtle like this.”

Leia swallowed, but decided to let him change the subject. She had no idea how to address parental abuse and he clearly wasn’t open to discussion on it. Perhaps she would be able to consult with her parents soon. 

“That was subtle?” she asked, trying to match his casual tone. 

“Well, for him.” Luke rolled his eyes, but the corner of his lips had turned upward with humor. “I’ve never known him to hire outside of imperial ranks.” 

Leia grimaced, then turned back to the counter when she realized her caff had heated. 

“Me neither.” She paused, carefully blowing on her too-hot drink. “I’m not sure I think it’s a good sign.” 

“Of course it is,” Luke said. “It shows he cares.” 

Leia wasn’t sure that being hunted across the galaxy was the sort of caring she wanted from someone, but decided not to voice that thought. She took a sip of her caff instead, wincing at the bitter flavor, then took a deeper drink. 

“What happened back there with Stovall?” Then she nodded at Aphra, who had begun to snore lightly. “And her.” 

“What do you mean?” Luke asked, his brows drawing together. 

“What you did to make them talk.” 

He frowned. “I just asked questions.”

“That’s definitely not all you did,” she pointed out. “That was some sort of mind trick, but it shouldn’t be possible to force a mind trick on someone with a strong will like that.” 

Luke leaned back in his seat. “I don’t know,” he said and Leia could feel the truth of it in the force. “I just ask questions and, ah, push until I get the answer.” 

“And if you break their mind?”

Luke jerked back. “Break their—? I’ve never done anything like that,” he said. “I just ask, but with the Force. I don’t know how to explain it, but I don’t break anyone. Sometimes, people don’t even realize what’s happened.”

“And Captain Akala?” she asked, clarity filling her mind. “Is that what you did to her?” 

Luke blinked slowly, just watching her for a moment. Then, he nodded. 

“Why?” she asked. “How could you do something like that to a person?”

“She would have turned us both in for those Death Star plans.” Luke shook his head. “I took no joy in it, but I had to. Don’t you understand?” 

Leia shook her head, frustrated with the earnest expression on his face. Setting

“Have you done this before?” 

Luke lipped his lips. “Not that exactly,” he demurred. “But I’ve done what I had to in order to serve the Empire.” 

“What you had to do?” she asked. “Or what you were told?” 

Luke’s jaw tightened, but he gave no response to her question. Instead he stood from his seat, eyeing their prisoner for a moment, before walking out of the room.

Leia heaved out a long sigh and focused on her caff, finishing the drink all at once as she considered their conversation. Rubbing at her temple with one hand, she set the mind tricks aside for the moment. She was too tired to even consider how she could get through to him on that front. 

On top of that, the more he opened up about the way he had been raised, the more thankful she was for her own parents. It wasn’t exactly a surprise to hear that a young man raised by the Empire would think that any of what he had described was acceptable, but it was different when she really thought about this being her twin brother.

If not for a twist of fate, she thought, their lives could have easily been reversed and she could be the one sitting here defending the abuses of the Empire. 

Or, worse, they could have both ended up with Vader and Palpatine. She shivered at the thought. Luke had come to her because he thought he was saving her, but it was becoming more and more clear that it would have to be the other way around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Has anyone read the Doctor Aphra comics? They are straight up to die for. I absolutely love her and I'm so glad I found a way to include her in this story. Also, have I mentioned that I adore it when Leia is totally feral? I hope you all enjoy it as well :P


	17. Those Left Behind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early chapter because I was too hyped up not to post already. Hope you all enjoy!

“Chiara?” 

Mara raised her head from where she had been hunched over a terminal station, eyes glued to yet another drab supply log. For a moment, she found herself wishing there were perhaps something more amiss with the supplies themselves, just to keep herself interested. Unfortunately, as far as she could tell, the base was entirely above board aside from the one little rebel. 

One rebel who was currently standing at Mara’s back with a concerned tone to her voice. Mara let out an audible sigh before turning around to face the traitor. 

“What are you still doing here?” she asked, letting some nerves leak into her words.

Nikola eyed her closely, then glanced up at the holorecorder in the corner of the room. It wasn’t a particularly overt look, just a quick flicker of her eyes, but Mara noted it anyway. Giving Nikola a conspiratorial smile, Mara leaned back in her seat.

“I don’t think they really monitor those recordings,” she said, lowering her voice. 

Nikola licked her lips, then moved forward. Carefully, she lowered herself into the seat beside Mara’s. 

“Why are you still here?”

Mara raised a brow. “Think I asked you first.” 

Nikola shrugged. “Just a bit of extra work I’d like to get done.” 

Humming in acknowledgement of that, Mara shifted again to be a little closer to the other woman. She was a tall, lean human with more muscle than her somewhat loose uniform implied. Mara only knew because she had made a point of being in the gym on base early in the mornings, when she knew Nikola liked to exercise. While Mara looped around the room in running wear, the rebel spy tended to occupy her time shadow boxing and hitting punching bags. 

Not someone Mara would underestimate if it came to a fight. Not someone she hoped to fight just yet, however. 

“Rescheduling deliveries?” Mara asked. 

Nikola’s brows shot up, but she gave no other outward sign of her alarm. 

Mara grinned, waving a hand in the air between them before the other woman could come up with some excuse.

“I won’t mention it,” she said, then let her eyes turn toward the holorecorder briefly before falling back to Nikola’s face. She sat up and leaned toward the spy. “But you should know Jur’s people have been poking around. It’s the only reason I heard about it.” 

“Poking around?” Nikola turned her face toward the computer terminal in front of her. “What do you mean?” 

Mara raised a shoulder casually. “Asking questions about the schedule. Who made changes, who plans routes.” She paused for a moment. “Who scheduled that stolen delivery a while back.” 

Nikola’s nostrils flared, but she didn’t respond immediately. Laying her hands out on the table in front of her, palms down, the rebel simply stared ahead of her and breathed evenly for a full minute. Mara waited for her to speak, happy to be patient when she felt so close to her goal at last. 

She had been embedded in this little base for weeks already, bored out of her mind as she inserted herself into this woman’s life. For a spy, Nikola was surprisingly reticent about being friendly with imperials. It seemed perhaps that the woman was more interested in manipulating data than getting information from the people around her. 

Still, after weeks of careful steps forward, Mara was certain she had broken through Nikola’s aloof outer shell with her outgoing persona. Mara considered herself relatively reserved in her own personal life, but Chiara Lorn was a young imperial who had signed up for adventure and found herself disappointed with life on base. 

Nikola let out a long breath. 

“You should head back to the barracks,” she said. 

Mara frowned in feigned confusion. “What about you?” 

“Get some rest.” Shaking her head, Nikola met Mara’s eyes again. “And maybe don’t mention that you saw me here.” 

Mara let her lips part in an expression of surprise, but she did not rise from her seat. 

“Nikola, are you in trouble?” she asked, laying a hand on the other woman’s bicep. 

“Maybe,” the spy admitted. She shifted out from under Mara’s touch. “But you don’t need to be. Just go back to your room and forget you saw me here.” 

A long moment passed. Mara let the pause drag out for a beat longer than the average person would be comfortable with, then shook her head vehemently.

“No, I’m not going to just forget you.” 

“Chiara—”

“No, this is ridiculous,” Mara snapped. “You, what, scheduled some things that got stolen and now you’re going to disappear? I won’t stand for it.” 

Nikola’s deep brown eyes went so wide, the irises seemed briefly golden in the artificial light. Then she got control of her face again, making her expression blank but for a furrow between her brows. 

“Do you understand what you’re saying?” Nikola blew out a breath that made her cheeks puff out. “I didn’t make a little mistake. You understand that, right?” 

“You’re—” Mara swallowed. “You’re a rebel. Aren’t you?” 

Nikola didn’t react to the question visibly, but her alarm rang out in the Force like a bell being struck. The Emperor’s Hand just barely refrained from smiling. 

Nikola’s usually plump lips thinned into a tan slash on her face. 

“Do you understand what you’re asking me?” 

Mara bit her lip, then nodded. “If… if you’re leaving, you should take some things with you.” 

Turning back to the computer terminal, Mara loaded the schedules and every other bit of data was easily accessible at this station—not much, luckily—onto the datadrive she had been working with earlier. 

“You’re helping me?” 

Mara shrugged. “You’re my friend.” 

“If you get caught—”

“What if I went with you?” Mara spoke quickly, letting her voice go breathy with anticipation.

“What?” 

“You’re going to join the, uh, the rebellion, right?” Mara blinked quickly and chewed on her lower lip. “I want to go with you.” 

Eyes narrowing then, the rebel stood from her seat. 

“No,” she said. “It’s not all excitement and adventure. You’re young. You shouldn’t throw your life away like this.” 

Mara wanted to laugh, but she managed to keep the amusement those words filled her with off of her face and out of her voice. 

“I’m not too young to know what I want,” she said. “I’ve seen all the same things you have. I know about the weapons, the spice, everything that we deliver right into the hands of the Hutts and the cartels.”

The bribes had been distasteful even for Mara to oversee, but she knew why they were necessary. Chiara, however, would have been shocked.

“You got any family waiting for you?” Nikola asked then. “Friends? Lovers?” 

Mara just shrugged, letting Nikola come to her own conclusions. It seemed she did, her eyes softening minutely. 

“If you’re serious about this,” the rebel said, “then you should know there’s no coming back from this. I’m leaving tonight. There’s no reason to stay if the director is getting suspicious.” 

Nodding eagerly, Mara stood from her seat. 

“I’m ready.” 

\---

Once she finally woke up, Aphra seemed determined to make the trip to wherever it was Leia was planning to take her as difficult as possible. All told, including their stopover on Forsom to fix the hyperdrive, it took nearly a standard week to get to Leia’s mysterious destination. 

Honestly, Luke was shocked to learn that the rebellion took prisoners. Were they truly so organized that they had places they could hold prisoners long term? It seemed as if Leia’s so-called Rebel Alliance was more organized than he had ever realized. Did his father know? He must, Luke thought. 

Or perhaps not, if they were able to continue operating the way they did. 

Luke considered it as he pressed unconsciousness back on Aphra’s mind upon their landing. What would he tell his father when they were reunited finally? He couldn’t even quite picture how that reunion would go, now that it seemed to get further and further off all the time. Leia was finally opening up and talking with him more, but he couldn’t quite guarantee her safety the way he wanted to. 

That was really the question, wasn’t it? How could he protect her and keep their father happy at the same time?

Aphra shifted, still sleeping, but restless under Luke’s suggestion. He grimaced and focused on keeping her under, something which was proving much more difficult as time went on. It seemed that as she got used to the sensation, she was able to fight it better, which was proving inconvenient since the Falcon really wasn’t a prison transport. 

“I hope this holding facility isn’t far from here,” Luke muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose to try hold off the headache he could feel coming. 

Leia, pulling a tan vest over her white jumpsuit as she entered the room with Obi-Wan behind her, quirked a brow at him. 

“Not too far,” she said vaguely, pulling on gloves that matched her vest while Obi-Wan made his way to Luke’s side. “I had Captain Solo land as close as we can get without drawing too much attention.” 

Luke pursed his lips, irritated that she still didn’t trust him with their exact location. He was fairly certain that everyone else, including Han and Chewbacca, knew where they were, but all Luke had been told was “Outer Rim”. He leaned down to get an arm under one of Aphra’s while Obi-Wan came from the other side. Between the two of them, they managed to hoist her up so that she dangled between them like a drunk amongst friends. That was the intention at least, since they needed to move her through a city without alerting anyone to their presence. 

“I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to keep her under,” he said, more to vent his irritation and growing headache than anything else. 

Rather than tell him that he would need to figure it out, the way he’d expected, Leia gave him a concerned look. 

“Will you be okay?”

Luke paused, confused by that response, and straightened his back. 

“I’ll do what I must,” he assured her.

She frowned, but it was Obi-Wan who responded, “Luke, if you need help, we can certainly handle her in some other way.” 

“I can do it,” he insisted, realizing that they might just try to leave him behind if he couldn’t play his part. “I’ll do my job.” 

Both of them were still staring at him when the ramp began to lower and Han made his way into the room. He had switched his jacket for a vest and had a frown on his face that he smoothed out quickly when Leia turned to face him. 

“Are you sure you don’t need a coupla extra blasters with you?” he asked, his voice something that definitely wasn’t casual even as he leaned against the wall next to the ramp. 

Leia tilted her chin up at him, her mouth a firm line. “Yes, I’m sure.” 

Then she smiled in a way Luke wouldn’t have thought she was capable of, her head tilting back down and slightly to the side as if out of shyness. Luke frowned, confused, but before he could come to any conclusions, Leia was moving. She marched down the ramp with the sort of confidence Luke knew plenty of his classmates at the Academy might have literally killed for. She wouldn’t like the comparison, but she reminded him strongly of their father. 

He smiled to himself and followed his twin sister out of the Falcon, into air that felt like stepping into the mouth of a feverish happabore. With the doctor held so close, it seemed particularly suffocating, yet something floral on the air smelled familiar. Even in the low light of a pink sunset, Luke could see that the landing pad was made from light brown stone, cracked and slightly overgrown with roots from the gnarled trees that lined the far side of the platform. Fading white paint was just about all that separated out this particular spot as a landing pad, tucked as it was into what looked like a busy old town. 

Leia walked ahead, standing out a little more than Luke was comfortable with in her light colored clothes. Electric lights and neon signs, somewhat incongruent amongst clay buildings, were just starting to turn on as they left the landing pad behind to wind through ancient streets too narrow for most landspeeders. Luke focused on the road and the people around them, away from the lights that seemed intended to exacerbate his headache. 

Just as Leia had predicted, they weren’t the only ones who looked as if they’d gotten an early start on their evening. As they walked, seemingly directionless, Luke noted several boisterous groups leaning together and laughing or singing loudly as they went. Perhaps there was a holiday, he thought, noting how jovial people around them seemed to be. Even Obi-Wan, from the other side of Aphra’s slumped form, was smiling—though that was maybe just to fit in. 

Then Leia led them to a particularly run down building. It was a wide, squat structure with vines covering the entire front wall, nearly obscuring the narrow entryway. Without hesitation, Leia brushed aside the low hanging plants and stepped up to the rusting gate. Once Luke and Obi-Wan reached it, he could see that it appeared to be completely devoid of any modern technology; just a plain, old gate with an oddly shaped padlock. 

Luke was starting to really question the rebellion if this was their top secret prison when Leia opened the gate and let them into a small courtyard. Here, the only light came from the slowly setting sun, but it was enough to see by easily enough. Breezeways ringed the courtyard, creating shaded recesses in the current, low light so that the only thing that stood out was a tall, flowering tree that stretched up just beyond the height of the rooftop. It was perhaps even tall enough that Luke should have seen it from the outside, but only now did he see all of it. 

He inhaled sharply. He knew that tree, knew the pungent floral scent wafting off of it and the distinctive blue flowers that slowly shed their petals in a gentle shower. There was only one place where Asuka trees grew naturally.

“We’re on Akiva?” He lost his grip on their prisoner for a moment, stumbling slightly when she groaned and shifted against him. “The rebellion keeps prisoners in Myrra?” 

Leia whirled around. “You’ve been here?” 

Luke hesitated under her sharp eyes, then slowly nodded. 

“Why?” She asked. “Why was the Empire here?”

Luke frowned. “This is an imperial world,” he said, shifting again under the weight and heat of their captive.

“What—?” Leia started. 

“Perhaps,” Obi-Wan interrupted her, his voice strained, “we can continue this conversation after we’ve deposited the good doctor?” 

Leia pursed her lips but nodded and turned around. Luke took a moment to press sleep into Aphra again, then closed his eyes for a moment as the effort intensified his headache. Then he and Obi-Wan started up again, dragging her more than they had been before so that her boots slid and scuffed against the earthen ground. 

The next door was much more like something Luke would have expected from a high security facility. It seemed oddly useless to have a modern, metal security door set into clay walls, but he realized that the walls may not be entirely what they appeared. 

His suspicion was proven right a minute later. After Leia quietly spoke into an intercom, the door slid open, revealing a hallway with light gray walls lit by long, horizontal glow panels on the walls and ceilings. At the end of the hall was another sliding door, which opened to a turbolift.

“The catacombs?” Luke asked, a little out of breath as the lift started to descend. 

Leia’s face was serious, but gave very little indication to what she was feeling. 

“Part of them,” she answered. 

Luke nodded, but didn’t mention his own forays into the catacombs. The tunnels he had been in hadn’t looked anything like this and, as far as he knew, he had already cleared out that cell of rebels. They had been local trouble makers only, not the sorts Leia would align with, he reassured himself. 

He took a deep breath and anchored himself in the moment, focusing on his headache and the way Aphra was stirring again already. His eyes felt like they might actually burst from his skull from the pressure that felt like a band wrapped around his head, but for a moment he was grateful for the distraction. 

Then the turbolift opened again, revealing five humans all dressed in gray and blue, standing in formation with blasters out. At the front was a grim-faced woman who couldn’t be more than a decade older than Luke and Leia, but who had short, silver-colored hair. Her eyes dragged over the four new-comers slowly, before stopping on Luke and narrowing. Luke swallowed as recognition dawned on him.

“You,” she hissed, her jaw clenched tightly as she brought her blaster up and pointed it directly at him. 

Without thinking, he pulled away from Aphra and took a step back toward the turbolift, his hand going to his own plaster at his back. As he did, Aphra collapsed to the ground and the rest of the rebel troopers aimed their weapons at him. Leia and Obi-Wan both swiveled to the side to make themselves slightly smaller targets, hands flying to their concealed lightsabers, though neither ignited them. 

“Captain,” Leia said, not moving from her spot, “Stand down. He’s with us.” 

“I don’t think you realize just who you’ve let in here, Princess,” the captain said, eyes flicking to Leia only briefly before she returned her attention to Luke. 

“I know exactly who he is,” Leia responded evenly.

“Then you’ll know exactly why I’m not letting him walk out of here alive.” 

Before anyone could respond to that, a shot was fired into the rebel troopers, throwing one back and inciting the rest to open fire on the newcomers. As Obi-Wan and Leia quickly ignited their sabers to deflect the blaster shots into the walls and ceiling, Aphra stood up to her full height from where she had been kneeling with Leia’s blaster in her hand. Luke hadn’t even noticed her waking up fully, let alone the fact that she had managed to get Leia’s blaster out of the holster on her thigh, but he was minutely grateful now. 

“What the hell is this place?” Aphra’s voice was strained as she aimed and fired at another rebel, barely turning her head to indicate who she was asking. “I thought you said you weren’t going to kill me!” 

“To be fair,” Luke said, bringing his own blaster up but pointing it up at the ceiling for the moment, “I didn’t actually make that promise.” 

The silver-haired woman snarled and lunged out of the way of another of Aphra’s blaster shots.

“It’s not you we want dead,” she ground out. 

“Enough of this!” Leia exclaimed. “We cannot afford infighting—lower your weapons.” 

Stepping forward, she turned off her lightsaber and raised her hands in the air in front of her as if in surrender. Despite the gesture, Luke noted that she did not actually put her weapon away. 

Perhaps it was Leia’s relative fame or rank within the rebellion, perhaps it was the lightsaber in her hand, or perhaps it was simply the commanding voice she spoke with, but all blaster fire stopped immediately. A beat later, Obi-Wan lowered his saber and unignited it. Even the silver-haired woman—Nola? Nellith? He was certain her name was something with an “N”—lowered her blaster, though she did not power it down or put it away. Her face was still a mask of anger and… Luke tentatively reached out with the Force, ignoring the way it made his head feel like it might actually crack open, and confirmed the hurt and grief he thought he had noted. 

He could only barely remember this woman. What could he possibly have done to her to make her hate him so much? 

As he was considering, Doctor Aphra made her way to the wall and pulled a tiny multi tool out of her hat—how had they missed another one? For the moment, they were on the same side, so Luke didn’t say a thing as she pulled open a small panel in the wall and started pulling out wires. 

“You can’t trust him. That man is an imperial spy,” said—Nella? She focused on Luke again. “You must think we’re fools if you expect us to fall for your little mind tricks a second time.” 

“Listen, uh, Captain,” he started. Her nostrils flared. 

“You ripped my family apart and you don’t even remember my name?” 

Luke wracked his brain for the name, hoping he could de-escalate this if he could remember, but it was hard to think past the way the lights seemed far brighter with every passing minute. The woman’s lips twisted as the silence dragged on. 

“You imperials are all the same,” she snarled. She glanced at Leia. “Step aside, your highness. If you really believe in our cause, then you won’t stop me.” 

“I do believe in the Alliance,” Leia said, taking another small step toward the woman. “Which is why I can’t let you—”

“Gods, you all talk too much,” Aphra said, just before the lights went out, casting the underground hallway into complete darkness. 

It was only maybe a minute of total darkness, but it seemed as if time was dilating and contracting without any logic. For a long, stretched out moment, there was silence. Everything seemed to freeze as they all registered what had happened. 

Then, the sound of movement, followed by Leia’s voice giving a shout while something clattered to the ground. From there, things seemed to move very fast, though Luke couldn’t have said for sure what had happened. He heard footsteps, boots screeching over the smooth ground. More voices then, making incoherent sounds as someone spoke urgently about getting the light back up. 

Then, orange light spilled out over them from some sort of backup system, along with a loud klaxon alarm. In the dim, orange light it was easy to see that everyone had moved, but Luke could only focus on his sister. 

Before, she had stood between him and the rebel troopers. Now, she was to the side of him, backing slowly toward the turbolift. She had both hands in the air, no lightsaber in sight, and a pinched look on her face. There was a clawed hand on her shoulder, gripping at the muscle there hard enough that the knuckles looked white. 

Behind her, only visible because she was a few inches taller than Leia, stood Doctor Aphra. 

“All right,” she said, looking at Luke. “You’re going to get that lift open and the three of us are going to walk out of here safe and sound. Anyone tries to stop us, I shoot the princess. Got it?” 

Luke clenched his jaw, then raised his blaster. 

“You can’t kill her,” he said. “Your employer would sooner kill you than pay you if you did.” 

“He’ll kill me if I show up empty handed,” Aphra said and bared her teeth at him with an almost-smile. “One if you is better than neither. So put down that blaster and get the lift or I will shoot your precious princess.” 

Feeling as if he’d just bit into something particularly bitter, he did as he was told. 

“We can protect you,” Leia said as Luke hit the call button for the elevator. It required a code, which he didn’t, of course, have. 

“Oh, please,” Aphra laughed. Then she glanced at Luke, “The turbolift, pretty boy. Chop chop.”

“I don’t have the code.” He did his best to keep his tone even while racking his brain on how to take control of this situation. As if on cue to prove that he really had no good choices here, the woman whose name he still couldn’t remember spoke again. 

“This whole place is in lockdown,” she said. “And if you think I’ll override that and let you go—”

“Norra!” Luke exclaimed. Everyone stopped, the room going quiet except for the alarm that was actually very loud. So the room wasn’t really quiet. 

Luke’s head really hurt, he thought, just as he realized that that wasn’t probably the right time to speak. 

“Norra Wexley. Your husband was a rebel,” he continued, deciding to keep going while he had everyone’s attention. He frowned, thinking back. “But we didn’t find anything on you. I gave the order to leave you and your son alone.”

“Are you kidding me?” Norra’s lips twisted into a sneer. “You think that sending those imperial goons to drag Brentin out of our home, in front of our son was all fine because you didn’t also arrest me without charge?” 

He wasn’t quite sure what to say to that, but it was clear he had only made things worse. 

“I—He was aiding an insurgent group,” he defended himself, even as he felt his ears go hot and his throat dry up. “But you were innocent. Or so I thought.” 

“He was broadcasting the news!” she shouted. “All he wanted to do was spread real information and you people stole him from his home and sent him to a prison camp to be worked to death!” 

Luke swallowed and didn’t respond. There was clearly nothing he could say here and, what was worse, he realized he hadn’t really considered what had happened to the people left behind.

He’d assisted in the arrests of nearly two dozen rebels on Akiva and he’d felt proud of the hand he had had in restoring peace. But he had never once thought all that deeply about Norra or the others like her. He might have even considered, before this, that she would have been better off without a rebel in her house. Plenty of other imperials in Luke’s position would have had her arrested for potentially aiding and abetting her husband. 

“This is really heartbreaking and all, but I’m on a schedule here,” Aphra cut in, raising her voice to be heard over the alarm. “And I might just shoot the princess out of boredom if someone doesn’t get that lift going in a minute here.” 

“But you need at least one of them alive, right?” Norra asked, an odd tone in her voice that he found he didn’t like the sound of at all. Then she aimed her blaster at his head. “Shoot her and you get neither of them.” 

“Hey!” Leia exclaimed, before Aphra jerked her backwards. 

Attacking the rebels outright might jeopardize the trust he had built with Leia, he thought. But Leia had a blaster pressed into her back and, like an afterimage left from a bright light, he could see her falling forward when Aphra finally reacted and pulled the trigger. He considered the woman in front of him and felt the deadly intent within her, then looked back at Leia and saw the same realization in her eyes. 

If they did nothing, he and Leia would both die. 

He felt suddenly as if there were a storm rising around his ears, a wave gathering in the Force that made the sound of the klaxon fade to almost nothing to his senses. Along with the klaxon, everything else seemed muted until it was like only he and Leia were there. She met his eyes and he realized that she was feeling the same rising storm that he felt. He could feel her fear, her frustration, and it was the same as his own. The storm was coming from them, he thought, or perhaps they both thought. 

Then it seemed as if the storm broke all at once, spreading out from the twins and throwing everyone and everything else away from them. 

“We need to go,” they said, once it was only the two of them left standing. Luke could feel Leia’s concern for him—or his concern for her. It was hard to say, when it seemed as if they were one person rather than two individuals. It didn’t really matter, anyway. 

As one, they turned back to the turbolift, waving their hands at the keypad until it turned green and the door slid open. At the same time, the klaxon shut off and the lights returned to normal as the twins stepped into the lift. 

Time contracted again. The trip back to the surface, then back into the city and toward the ship, was a blur of shared senses and slowly fading fear. Only once they had made it back to the Falcon, where the ramp was lowered and Chewbacca was sitting out and waiting for them, did Luke feel as if he had returned fully to himself. 

Chewbacca roared something and, a moment later, Han came running out of the Falcon just in time to see Luke and Leia both stumble. Leia muttered something, but all Luke could think about was how strong his sister was in the Force to have pulled him into her storm like that. Like their father, he thought, then he thought no more. 

\---

The sirens had stopped by the time Obi-Wan opened his eyes again. In fact, the hallway he was in looked remarkably unremarkable, if he simply ignored the other unconscious bodies on the floor with him. He took a moment to survey the scene and remember himself, before scrambling to his feet. 

Luke, Leia, and Doctor Aphra were all gone. 

A groan from behind him announced that the others were waking now as well, but Obi-Wan didn’t bother to look back as he hastily made his way to the turbolift. Pressing a hand to the controls, he let out a huff of frustration when the light flashed red and nothing happened. 

“You need the code,” came the reedy voice of Captain Wexley. Obi-Wan turned to look over his shoulder as the woman slowly made to stand. 

He raised a brow at her. “I would certainly appreciate it if you would provide it to me."

“And why should I?” she asked, standing to her full height, perhaps a few centimeters shorter than Obi-Wan. “You brought that monster here and look what he’s done.” 

Obi-Wan took a deep breath and reminded himself that she had a right to her anger, that the entire rebellion was built on people who were rightfully angry about the crimes committed in the name of the Empire. 

“Keeping me here won’t help any of us,” he responded simply. “I must go find them and you should begin evacuation protocols immediately. If our prisoner is able to contact her superiors, we can expect a full scale imperial invasion in short order.” 

Finally, the severity of the situation appeared to dawn on Wexley. Her face paled and her eyes widened. For a moment, she looked much younger than Obi-Wan had first thought and it occurred to him that, like so many of those who flocked to their cause, she perhaps had no military background to speak of. After a long pause, she stood straighter and nodded. 

“Yes, sir,” she said. Then she crossed the last bit of space between them and input a long string of numbers into the keypad. 

“Stay safe, Captain.” He stepped into the turbolift before the door could even slide entirely open. Turning to face her, he watched her pressed the button to send the lift back up. Before the door could slide shut again, he added, “May the Force be with you.” 

As he rose back toward the surface level of old town Myrra, the Jedi master closed his eyes and carefully set aside the aches and pains that he knew would only get worse as the adrenaline wore off. He knew that his strength in the Force was perhaps the only reason he could even stand after being flung to the floor like that, but his body was still sure to remind him that he was getting too old for this. 

There wasn’t time to worry about that, however. He hadn’t ever felt anything quite like what they had done in that hallway. After training Leia from such a young age, he was deeply familiar with how strong she was in the Force and her ability to feel every bit as intensely as her father ever had. He had long recognized that she was a deeply compassionate and empathetic person. He had even realized exactly how such traits could be used against her, as they had been against his old apprentice. 

None of that explained how she had reacted to Luke’s feelings. Without ever forming a conscious bond that Obi-Wan was aware of, the twins had created a feedback loop between them so intense that they had both lost control. Leia was far beyond such youthful losses of control, but it had been as if the two merged in the Force until even Obi-Wan couldn’t have identified one over the other. Even the twins he had known in the Temple hadn’t done anything like that, to his knowledge. 

He could still feel the disturbance Luke and Leia had caused in the Force with their outburst, spreading outward like ripples in a pond. They needed to leave this planet behind immediately, before those ripples reached anyone else. 

But first, he needed to find them. 

Even with the disturbance they had created, or perhaps because of it, Luke and Leia together were a bright spot in the Force. So close to them, it was like a beacon calling him to their location. It was dangerous when he considered who else might like to locate them, but for his purposes it meant it wasn’t difficult to retrace their steps from the entrance to the catacombs back through Old Town. 

By now, the sun had fully set, but the streets were filled with jovial locals celebrating a local holiday of some sort. Obi-Wan hurried through the crowds, unnoticed among so many others in the streets, until he found the same quiet side street they had started at earlier. 

Relief washed over him. The twins had simply returned to the ship, he realized. If they had been moving simply on instinct, the way he suspected, they had probably found the first place they felt safe. 

In sight of the Millenium Falcon again, with relief coursing through him, he was reminded again that he was getting too old to be running around after being knocked unconscious. With the urgency gone from him, he allowed himself to walk onto the landing platform more slowly, taking care with the ankle he realized he must have twisted at some point. 

“You’re back!” Han Solo’s voice rang out, though Obi-Wan couldn’t see him for a moment. Then he appeared on the ramp, jogging down the decline with a harried look on his face. “What in all hells happened? And—you all right there?” 

Before Obi-Wan could answer either question, the young man came running forward to put an arm around his shoulder and help him up the ramp. For all that Solo and his co-pilot claimed to be scoundrels, they certainly had strong helping instincts. 

“Your help is much appreciated,” he breathed. “I felt the twins come here. Where are they? Are they safe?” 

“Sure.” Han huffed out a breath, pulling Obi-Wan up the ramp a little faster than he would have liked. “If you count showing up here looking like ghosts and then immediately collapsing safe. What happened?” 

“Collapsed, you say?” Obi-Wan asked, just as they crossed the threshold into the ship. Han guided him into the lounge area, where Luke and Leia had been strapped into seats already. It seemed fortunate that he had arrived when he did, as Han and Chewbacca had evidently been in preparations to leave. 

Pulling away from the captain, he hummed to himself thoughtfully and reached out in the Forced. Both young ones felt as alive and vital as they had before, but his sense of them in the Force felt different. Whatever they had done in that moment of shared panic, he worried the repercussions could be much longer lasting than anyone could have expected. 

“I assume you have already made the necessary preparations for takeoff?” He turned to look at Han expectantly. 

“Yeah,” Han responded, then scowled. “You’re seriously not going to explain?” 

“There’s no time,” he said, shaking his head. “The Empire will surely be here any minute. We need to go.” 

Han flattened his lips together in displeasure. “You got a destination in mind?”

Obi-Wan considered their options, but knew there was only one place that would do. He might get into a lot of trouble for this decision, but it was time for a reunion.

“I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chiara Lorn is a real alias Mara used in the EU--one of several that I picked from. On a separate note: I picked Akiva basically at random for Luke's earlier imperial mission and was super pleased when I was writing this chapter to discover that there was a canon rebel prison there. The Wexleys are also canon characters, though admittedly they're a part of the Disney sequel timeline, which I'm not really a fan of. In that timeline, Norra becomes a member of the Resistance with her son.


End file.
